The phenomenon of violence and discrimination against LGBT+ people based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, or sex characteristics (SOGIESC) is widely underrepresented in official statistics. Despite the high rates of discrimination and violence detected, the European Fundamental Rights Agency survey on victimization of LGBT+ people has highlighted a significant reluctance to report due both to distrust in the institutional response and to fear of suffering further forms of discrimination and violence from authorities, given the nature of the violence suffered and consequently the need to reveal one’s identity.
Among the consequences of such discrimination, research conducted at the international level shows the overrepresentation of LGBT+ youth among homeless people compared to heterosexual-cisgender people: for this segment of the population, the likelihood of suffering from substance use, mental health problems, poverty, prostitution, and the risk of experiencing violence from peers and institutions rises significantly. This is even more true for transgender people, whose experience is more often marked by the intersection of poverty, marginalization, sexism, and racism from a young age, producing “gender entrapment” whereby they are forced, both for economic reasons and psychological survival, to enter the illegal markets of prostitution and drugs. For these individuals, shelters and reception facilities are often inaccessible places, also due to heteronormative and cis-normative attitudes on the part of staff.
Recent literature and recommendations from international human rights bodies emphasize the importance of implementing specialized services for LGBT+ people with
staff possessing adequate specialized training and cultural competencies capable of addressing the specificities of LGBT+ victims. Participatory research in this field, conducted at the international level, demonstrates the importance of knowledge and experience gained by LGBT communities in addressing
the effects of violence and discrimination based on SOGIESC, through self-help practices
and the creation of safe spaces of mutual solidarity (community safe approach).
In the Italian context, there is no comprehensive study on intervention practices dedicated to supporting
victims of discrimination and violence based on SOGIESC. The project aims to fill this gap
through:
– analysis of scientific literature, international and national recommendations and guidelines
on discrimination and violence based on SOGIESC and intervention practices to
support victims;
– mapping of existing reception facilities at the national level;
– analysis of the characteristics, approaches, and intervention methodologies of reception
facilities, as well as emerging needs from field experience, in order to highlight critical issues and
strengths of the reception system;
– sharing of project results within discussion forums with the heads of
facilities involved in the project and territorial and national stakeholders (policy makers, operators, and
heads of general services);
– dissemination activities aimed at LGBT+ associations and professionals who in various capacities
work in the field of supporting victims of violence.