“ReachOUT: it goes both ways!”: A participatory action research study on help-seeking for young LGBTQ+ people experiencing domestic abuse

Abstract

Young LGBTQ+ people often lack recognition of their experiences of domestic abuse (DA) and awareness of support available. Although many barriers prevent young people from help-seeking, the problem is worsened by limited research and resources to bridge the gap – hence the title: “ReachOUT: it goes both ways!”. Due to the limited focus on young LGBTQ+ people’s experiences, I took a participatory action research (PAR) approach with 12 young LGBTQ+ co-researchers to gain an in-depth understanding of these issues and begin to address the gaps in academic knowledge on young LGBTQ+ people’s experiences by including young LGBTQ+ people themselves. Across the five phases of the project - exploration, planning, doing the research, co-analysis, and impact - the coresearchers co-designed a survey of 93 LGBTQ+ young people and interviewed five practitioners across non-LGBT specialist DA, sexual violence and LGBT youth organisations in the Northeast of England. The study aims to improve the likelihood that young LGBTQ+ people will feel able to access appropriate help when they experience DA. This approach highlights the methodological importance of not just asking and listening but also involving young people in conversations with practitioners
and decisions about research. The research took an extended epistemological and pluralistic theoretical approach using the concept of the theoretical toolbox. This approach allowed me to move away from the polarisation of approaches towards a queer intersectional feminist PAR and social justice framework that can incorporate the complex lives and diverse narratives of young LGBTQ+ people. Through the co-analysis of this data and the co-production of a zine and reflective tool for practitioners, the co-researchers question the ideal of safe spaces and the focus on young
LGBTQ+ people ‘reaching out’ and instead highlight the need for services to be more proactive, rather than reactive, in reaching out to them. Reaching out must also be inclusive, visible, accessible and, crucially, intersectional. With the co-researchers’ key findings in mind, this thesis extends the stages of help-seeking towards a model which also encompasses help-providing; explores the role of gendered approaches in analysis and DA practice; and interrogates the position of specialist provision within a precarious system. This thesis provides practical and academic insights into future possibilities for young LGBTQ+ people gaining DA support through brave, queer, intersectional, feminist praxis.