Annual report shows more LGBT people access local domestic violence victim services

Written by Doug Riley
Friday, 24 October 2008

Kansas City, MO—The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) and 37 of its member organizations across the country released their report on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Domestic Violence in 2007. The 50-page report examines data compiled from thousands of LGBT people who experienced domestic violence in 2007. The Kansas City Anti-Violence Project is the local program that submitted data to the report.

The report shows 3,319 incidents of LGBT domestic violence in 2007 nationwide. In the Kansas City area, KCAVP documented 43 LGBT victims of domestic violence in 2007, a 27 percent increase over 2006.

“The increase of reported violence shows our outreach and education in the community is working,” said Doug Riley, Executive Director of KCAVP. “Unfortunately, there are countless other lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender victims whose are not receiving the vital services needed to survive the violence they experience. Because October is domestic violence awareness month, we need now more than ever to reach out to these victims.”

PDF versions of the 2007 Domestic Violence Report are available at www.ncavp.org or at www.kcavp.org along with previous editions of NCAVP reports on hate-motivated and domestic violence. For information on the national study, please call Avy Skolnik at NCAVP at 212-714-1184. For information regarding local information, please call Doug Riley at KCAVP at 816-561-0550.

KCAVP is a Missouri nonprofit corporation committed to providing services, advocacy and education for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and hate crimes within the eight counties that encompass the metropolitan Kansas City area. For more information about KCAVP, visit www.kcavp.org.

NCAVP addresses the pervasive problem of violence committed against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and HIV-affected communities. NCAVP is a coalition of community-based organizations that document and advocate for victims of anti-LGBT and anti-HIV/AIDS violence/harassment, domestic violence, sexual assault, police misconduct and other forms of abuse. NCAVP is dedicated to creating a national response to the violence plaguing these communities and supporting existing anti-violence organizations and emerging local programs in their efforts to document and prevent such violence.