FtM’s and Gendered Violence – Barriers to Shelter

The film Boys Don’t Cry told the story of Brandon Teena, a young trans man who was killed in Nebraska. After Brandon was arrested for cheque forgery, police reported to a local newspaper that he was legally and biologically female. He was subsequently abducted, beaten, and raped by two acquaintances who were outraged that Brandon was trans. Despite threats by his assailants that they would kill him if he told police about the assault, he did report the rape, and named the men who had assaulted him. Police scorned and mocked Brandon, and no charges were laid. Two days later, the same assailants killed Brandon and two friends (Lisa Lambert and Philip DeVine). Courts found the police officials partially responsible for Brandon’s death.

Text from FTM International (2000), Our history – Brandon Teena, from http://www.ftm-intl.org/Hist/Bran/.

There is currently no consensus on where FtM's should go for shelter. FtMs (female-to-males or trans men) are in a unique position as people who identify themselves as male or masculine, but who still face many problems that society associates with women. Because of the high cost of chest and lower surgeries, and the difficulty in getting approval for testosterone, passing as a man is out of reach for many FtM's - making a men's shelter a potentially dangerous place. A trans man could be perceived as a female in an all-male dorm/shower area/bathroom, and is therefore at great risk for physical, sexual, or verbal assault. Men's shelters often offer less privacy than women's (ie) group showers. Unfortunately, personal stories reflect this reality - FtM's have reported rapes occurring in men's shelters. In addition, the staff of men's services are not always trained to work with abuse survivors. As men who face or have faced sexual assault, spousal abuse, and gender discrimination, some FtMs will attempt to access these supports from women's services.

Women's shelters however, are often not set-up to accommodate trans men. Some have been able to adapt their services (see Fred Victor Women's Hostel Policy) and others have not. If women's shelters allow access for FtM's, they often require that they present themselves as women in order to access services… a prospect many FtM's find extremely troubling and degrading.

These two choices are not acceptable: facing risks at a men's shelter; or hiding their identities at a women's shelter. There is an urgent need for more options. It is necessary for men's shelters to begin the work of creating safety for vulnerable men (including but not limited to FtM's). It is necessary for women's shelters to develop policy around how they respond to FtM's seeking services, and establish a safe referral system if they can not provide service. There is a need for a system wide strategy on access to safe shelter for FtMs. Our project is anxious to assist in developing this. We are currently seeking funds to conduct community research into safe shelter strategies.

Diana Courvant and Loree Cook-Daniels(1) go on to say “Many FtM's lived within the Lesbian community prior to their transition, and oftentimes their partners still identity as Lesbian and keep ties to that community. Since Lesbian communities are often tightly-interwoven and heavily involved in anti-domestic violence work, an FtM battered by a female partner may well fear that if he seeks help the battery may become public, he will not be believed and/or advocates and community members will side with his partner's version of events. This close interplay between domestic violence workers and an FtM survivor's and/or Lesbian batterer's social network may also heighten an FtM's fears that accessing services will lead to public discussion of his trans status, thus exposing him to the discrimination and violence discussed above.”

(1) Courvant, D, & Cook-Daniels, L (1998). Trans survivors of domestic violence: Defining terms, barriers, and responsibilities. Portland, OR: Survivor Project. Retrieved from http://www.survivorproject.org/defbarresp.html