LGBT+ people and sexual violence

LGBT+ people who experience sexual violence, as children or adults, know what an impact it has on who they are and how they see themselves. It’s important that LGBT+ people don’t feel silenced about what’s happened to them or what support they need. It is important that LGBT+ people see their identities, experiences and issues reflected in information and public debate about sexual violence.

This information sheet is written by the Sexual Violence Support Service at Galop, the LGBT+ anti-violence organisation, and covers some of the issues and barriers to support felt by LGBT+ survivors. We hope it is useful for practitioners in understanding the range of identities and lived experience of LGBT+ survivors.

Mostly we hope this factsheet reassures LGBT+ survivors that we know how much courage it takes to speak up and we understand your perspectives and experiences. We encourage you to seek support from us or another service that you feel comfortable with or to contact the London Survivors Gateway to get information about your options.