La Trobe University > Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society > Our work > Opening Doors

Opening Doors

Cartoon design of a group of people sitting on chairs in a circle, talking

Ensuring LGBTIQ-inclusive family, domestic and sexual violence services

2022

Stephanie Lusby, Gene Lim, Marina Carman, Suzanne Fraser, Matthew Parsons,  Jackson Fairchild, Adam Bourne

LGBTIQ people experiencing family, domestic and sexual violence (FDSV) should be able to choose from and readily access a range of services that provide expert support in ways that respect and affirm their lives, bodies, identities and relationships. However, there remain significant gaps in access to safe, inclusive and affirming care for many in these communities across Australia.

Opening Doors: Ensuring LGBTIQ-inclusive family, domestic and sexual violence services (Opening Doors) investigates current challenges faced by LGBTIQ people in Australia when seeking help after experiencing FDSV, as well as promising moves towards safe and affirming service provision in different sectors and organisations.

The Opening Doors study was conducted by the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University and funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. It included exploring the experiences and insights from LGBTQ victim-survivors as well as practitioners providing LGBTIQ community-controlled services, LGBTIQ-inclusive FDSV services, and FDSV services working towards more LGBTIQ-inclusive practice.

Opening Doors Resources

Drawing on the Centre's research expertise and policy and practice leadership from Rainbow Health Australia, this study has produced three resources:

Associated publications

Researchers at ARCSHS are working on several more academic publications from the Opening Doors project. They will feature here as they are published.

  • Affective barriers to accessing professionalized intimate partner violence services among LGBTQ people in Australia
    Gene Lim, Stephanie Lusby, Marina Carman and Adam Bourne (2025)LGBTQ+ victim-survivors of intimate partner violence face obstacles when accessing support. This article explores internal obstacles that hindered victim-survivors from taking up professional support, even when it was available, including difficulty naming experiences as intimate partner violence, and distrust of service providers (both generally through experiences of/anticipation of discrimination, and specifically in terms of service availability or suitability).
  • LGBTQ victim-survivors' experiences and negotiations of service worker and service system discrimination
    Gene Lim, Stephanie Lusby, Marina Carman & Adam Bourne (2023)
    This study explores the experiences of LGBTQ victim-survivors seeking support from domestic violence services, revealing a diverse service landscape ranging from inclusive to exclusionary attitudes towards LGBTQ clients. Despite victim-survivors' adept navigation of discriminatory environments, the psychological toll and limited success in accessing support highlight the need for enhanced service capabilities and sensitivity to discrimination's impact on service provision.
  • Evidence to Act: LGBTIQ-inclusive family violence service provision in Australia and the politicisation of data gaps
    Stephanie Lusby, Gene Lim, Marina Carman & Adam Bourne (2023)
    This article examines practitioner perspectives on the insufficient resources allocated to support LGBTQ individuals experiencing family violence in Australia. Through interviews with 21 key personnel, it highlights the challenges stemming from the demand for evidence to justify investment in inclusive services, emphasizing the need for increased research and immediate expansion of support services, challenging current policy sequencing that inhibits progress in addressing LGBTQ family violence.
  • On the structural conditions shaping implementation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ)-inclusive practices within intimate partner services in Australia
    Gene Lim, Stephanie Lusby, Marina Carman & Adam Bourne (2023)
    This study investigates the structural barriers hindering inclusive service provision to LGBTQ victim-survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Australia, based on interviews with 21 service providers. Findings reveal resistance to inclusive practices, resource constraints, and limited political will as key obstacles, highlighting the need for inter-organizational collaboration and advocacy to enhance accessibility and support victim-survivor recovery.

Launch

Opening Doors was launched on October 13 2022 by The Hon Amanda Rishworth MP, Commonwealth Minister for Social Services, and featured a panel discussion with key sector and lived experience experts discussing the implications of the findings for the sector and the community.

View the launch now on YouTube:

Funding

Australian Commonwealth Coat of Arms with the text Australian Government Department of Social ServicesThe Opening Doors study and resources are funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services.