Queer Survivorship: Working with LGBTQ+ Survivors of Sexual Violence

Rape culture can be defined as, a setting in which pervasive experiences of rape are normalized due to cultural ideas around gender and sexuality. This notion is complicated further when the individual within such a culture holds marginalized, and at times intersecting, identities that push back on these ideas about gender and sexuality. As therapists, how do we both hold the reality of the pervasiveness of living in a rape culture, while also working toward instilling a sense of safety, regulation, and hope post-trauma as we were trained to do – especially when this dichotomy is felt to border on impossible? In this training, we will discuss terms, history, and legality associated with working in sexual violence; debunk common myths stemming from rape culture and learn to work with them in the room; and unpack the therapist’s role in working with queer survivors of sexual violence, providing tools and information not only for the clinician themselves, but for the survivors we work with as well.