![\"Justice](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/b0c1b6ec-7254-4a9c-8f1d-e8f27d07e3b2.jpg\")
<\/p>\nA study published on Tuesday revealed that 64.5% of participants who suffered abuse at hands of a loved one didn\u2019t tell anyone what they were going through. <\/p>\n
The research, conducted by NI based charity HERe NI in partnership with Cara-Friend and The Rainbow Project, found that more than a quarter (26.8%) of individuals who did report abuse felt they were either not believed or taken seriously by service providers.<\/p>\n
One male respondent who reached out to the PSNI for help described being left feeling like \u201cthey just really didn\u2019t seem to care\u201d.<\/p>\n
“I just kept getting pushed from post to pillar, different officers, different police stations,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou could tell they didn\u2019t want to be in that room, didn\u2019t want to be on the phone call. I found that they\u2019re not trained properly.\u201d <\/p>\n
HERe NI surveyed 87 people and interviewed 16 participants as part of the research.<\/p>\n
Approximately 60% of respondents felt that the existing legal, policy, and practice initiatives in NI for LGBT+ survivors of domestic violence and abuse were \u201cnot so effective\u201d or \u201cnot at all effective\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Naomi Long speaking at the launch of the research study in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings.<\/p>\n
Only 14.5% of participants agreed that services were \u201cextremely effective\u201d or \u201cvery effective\u201d.<\/p>\n
One respondent revealed that when they were reporting abuse, service providers assumed the perpetrator was a man.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I phoned the GP, that was hard because he assumed that it was a man, and I didn\u2019t even correct him\u2026 he was really nice, but he just went on this whole spiel, as if it was a straight relationship,\u201d they said. <\/p>\n
\u201cI also phoned a helpline, and when I was speaking to the person there, as soon as I said that it was a woman, it was almost like they lost interest.\u201d<\/p>\n
The primary reasons given by those who chose not to report the abuse included not recognising the situation for what it was (71.15%), self blame (55.77%), and concerns about making the situation worse (55.77%).<\/p>\n
One female participant said she couldn\u2019t comprehend the idea that she was in harmful relationship as a lesbian.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first time I came across research into domestic abuse in the LGBT Community I remember seeing a little flyer for it and going, \u2018What?! What do you mean?\u2019,\u201d she recalled. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt didn\u2019t even occur to me that it could be a thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Other reasons why participants didn\u2019t report abuse included, mistrust with support organisations or police (36.29%) concerns about the perpetrator being well-known (30.77%) and fear of legal repercussions (26.92%).<\/p>\n
One male victim did not want to reach out to LGBT+ support organisations as his ex-partner was popular in the community.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like I couldn\u2019t go to the Rainbow Project, because it was like telling our mutual mates,\u201d he explained. <\/p>\n
“It would have felt uncomfortable and difficult.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time when I was looking for support, I couldn\u2019t really seem to find abuse centres that weren\u2019t just for women hurt by men.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t want to go there, because they\u2019re not going to give me the kind of support that I\u2019ll need.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I didn\u2019t want to go do the queer ones, because of how small the queer community was.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/cc96bc59-45ed-4a51-99bf-2823115ef2b3.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Pictured L-R at the launch event in the Long Gallery are Scott Cuthbertson from The Rainbow Project, Justice Minister Naomi Long, HEReNI Director Cara McCann, and Adam Murray from Cara-Friend. \n<\/p>\n
News Catch Up – Tuesday 2nd September <\/p>\n
Launching the research, Cara McCann, HERe NI Director, said: \u201cDomestic violence and abuse impacts LGBTQAI+ people in Northern Ireland in ways that have too often been invisible.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis research gives a voice to our community and highlights the urgent need for inclusive services and support.\u201d<\/p>\n
The charity is calling for a number of policy recommendations for the NI government, domestic abuse support organisations, LGBT+ support organisations, and other stakeholders that support domestic abuse survivors.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt HERe NI, we are committed to ensuring that no one is left behind and that survivors feel seen, heard, and safe. We hope this research brings real action across the government and wider society,\u201d Ms McCann concluded.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Naomi Long praised those involved in the research which she hailed as \u201can important piece of work\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cI know that recounting abuse can be extremely traumatising for victims, but I hope those who found the strength to participate in this research are aware of the impact their contribution will make going forward,\u201d she said, <\/p>\n
The Alliance Party leader said the findings will aid policy development and reform in NI and serve \u201cas an important reminder that members of the LGBTQAI+ community are affected by domestic abuse\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the same time, it has highlighted the very unique challenges and specific barriers faced by LGBTQAI+ people with regards to domestic and intimate partner abuse,\u201d Ms Long added. <\/p>\n
\u201cI remain committed to the creation of a society where everyone is safe from threatening behaviour, violence and abuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it will take a concerted effort from everyone to challenge the stereotypes and harmful attitudes that allow domestic abuse to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A study published on Tuesday revealed that 64.5% of participants who suffered abuse at hands of a loved…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":392360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1611,91391,1144,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-392359","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-jessica-rice","9":"tag-naomi-long","10":"tag-northern-ireland","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115135729893371751","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=392359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/392359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/392360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=392359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=392359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=392359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}