Relationships that cause harm or are unhealthy
Situational distress factors
Situational distress refers to specific life events and everyday challenges to our survival that can impact our feelings and thoughts of suicide. For example, relationships that cause harm or are unhealthy.
People in our communities can and do experience unhealthy or unsafe relationships with friends, chosen family or relatives, partners, co-workers, peers, and other community members. Sometimes the relationships we have with our loved ones can cause us harm.
Sexual, domestic, and family violence (SDFV) can happen to anyone.
There are challenges within our community, such as internalised homophobia and minority stress, which mean LGBTQ+ people may experience violence in different ways to other family dynamics or cis-heterosexual relationships.
There are common feelings and effects of violence which can indicate that you may be in an abusive relationship with someone in your life. An abusive or violent relationship often makes you feel like you have no control, have feelings of constant anxiety, and may include emotional, verbal, financial, physical or sexual abuse. Sometimes a partner may use coercive control, which can wear you down without obvious signs of abuse.
It can be hard to recognise we are in harmful relationships and to work out what to do. It can also be challenging to watch someone you care about navigate unhealthy relationships. There are tools and support available to help us.
Resources
- ACON SDFV Support Service | ACON’s SDFV Support Service provides free and confidential counselling and care coordination for LGBTQ+ people experiencing sexual, domestic, and family violence
- Home | 1800RESPECT | 1800RESPECT is a counselling, information and referral service offering 24/7 phone counselling for people who have experienced sexual, domestic and family violence.
- Rainbow Sexual, Domestic and Family Violence Helpline (Formerly LGBTIQ+ Violence Service) | For anyone in community who has or is experiencing sexual, family or domestic violence. 24/7 support, call 1800 497 212
- Transcend Australia | Support for Trans, Gender Diverse and Non-Binary Children and their Families | Transcend Australia is a parent led, national peer support network and community for parents and carers supporting their Trans, Gender Diverse and Non-Binary child
- Rainbow Families | Rainbow Families works to reduce discrimination and disadvantage faced by children of LGBTQ+ parents and is a support network for parents and carers, as well as future parents and carers
- Relationships Australia | Achieving positive and respectful relationships | Relationships Australia advocates and promotes the importance of respectful relationships with respect to positive individual mental health outcomes and general community outcomes
- Safe Relationships Project | Inner City Legal Centre | The Safe Relationships Project can assist clients in accessing legal representation and to apply for Apprehended Domestic Violence Orders (ADVO) or Apprehended Personal Violence Orders (APVO) to help put an end to the violence they are experiencing