She Shall Go Free

Jan. 25, 2012 at 7:17pm with 18 notes View comments

Reblogged from 3dela

3dela:

stfurapeculture:

[From what I’ve heard, RAINN is horribly transphobic. There are better organisations than them.]
Damn it, we can’t even trust RAINN! I’ve googled about it now, and see that I’ve been living under a rock and should have been aware of this. I’m sorry I’ve used them as my go-to hotline. I hope none of you have had bad experiences because of me.
Can you (or other followers) suggest any other national hotline? Or heck, suggest local resources, too, that you guys know are supportive and accepting of all survivors, regardless of gender identity, sexuality, sex, etc? I’ve found this list of trans* friendly organizations, but I will take further suggestions too.
If everyone will send me in places they know are good, I’ll make a page of resources here on the tumblr and refer my anons to that. I definitely do not want to refer to any organization that’s transphobic. Thank you for the heads up!

I would like to point out that RAINN uses a lot of local affiliates to operate their hotline. For example, if you have a Los Angeles area code and you call the RAINN national hotline, you will most likely be redirected to the hotline for Peace Over Violence. I am really sorry some of you may have had bad experiences with the RAINN hotline, but please don’t write off the whole organization. It may have been the particular counselor you spoke to, or the issue may be with the local affiliate you were connected with.
I work for Peace Over Violence, and I can attest to the fact that all counselors at POV go through incredibly intensive and extensive training (85+ hours before we can even begin working on the hotline). That training includes several days covering LGBTQ issues, disability issues, race and class issues, etc. We do a lot of exercises regarding privilege, and we have extensive discussions on the specific needs and concerns of LGBTQ individuals. The thing I love most about POV is how hard it works to be inclusive and accessible to all survivors.
Not all hotlines operate this way. But I know there are many RAINN affiliates who follow the same principles in their trainings. And I believe RAINN itself is quite open—but again, there is no way to ensure that every single counselor working on both the national hotline and all of the local affiliates will be up to par and fully accepting of trans* and queer issues. I am so sorry some people have had negative experiences. Please don’t write off the entire organization because of what a few select individuals may have done. And I hope that you will try to report this kind of thing in the future, should you ever encounter it again. You have the right to speak with a counselor that is accepting, understanding and supportive. You can always ask to be connected to a different counselor, ask to be connected with the supervisor (there is always one on shift for POV), or try reporting the individual counselor for their misconduct.
All of my experiences with RAINN have been fantastic. I deeply appreciate the work they do, and I feel blessed to be a part of that work.
And for those who are interested, here is the contact info for Peace Over Violence:
http://www.peaceoverviolence.org/
24 Hour Rape, Battering, & Domestic Violence Hotlines (you can call any of the following numbers and be connected with a POV counselor):
626.793.3385 310.392.8381213.626.3393

stfurapeculture:

[From what I’ve heard, RAINN is horribly transphobic. There are better organisations than them.]

Damn it, we can’t even trust RAINN! I’ve googled about it now, and see that I’ve been living under a rock and should have been aware of this. I’m sorry I’ve used them as my go-to hotline. I hope none of you have had bad experiences because of me.

Can you (or other followers) suggest any other national hotline? Or heck, suggest local resources, too, that you guys know are supportive and accepting of all survivors, regardless of gender identity, sexuality, sex, etc? I’ve found this list of trans* friendly organizations, but I will take further suggestions too.

If everyone will send me in places they know are good, I’ll make a page of resources here on the tumblr and refer my anons to that. I definitely do not want to refer to any organization that’s transphobic. Thank you for the heads up!

I would like to point out that RAINN uses a lot of local affiliates to operate their hotline. For example, if you have a Los Angeles area code and you call the RAINN national hotline, you will most likely be redirected to the hotline for Peace Over Violence. I am really sorry some of you may have had bad experiences with the RAINN hotline, but please don’t write off the whole organization. It may have been the particular counselor you spoke to, or the issue may be with the local affiliate you were connected with.

I work for Peace Over Violence, and I can attest to the fact that all counselors at POV go through incredibly intensive and extensive training (85+ hours before we can even begin working on the hotline). That training includes several days covering LGBTQ issues, disability issues, race and class issues, etc. We do a lot of exercises regarding privilege, and we have extensive discussions on the specific needs and concerns of LGBTQ individuals. The thing I love most about POV is how hard it works to be inclusive and accessible to all survivors.

Not all hotlines operate this way. But I know there are many RAINN affiliates who follow the same principles in their trainings. And I believe RAINN itself is quite open—but again, there is no way to ensure that every single counselor working on both the national hotline and all of the local affiliates will be up to par and fully accepting of trans* and queer issues. I am so sorry some people have had negative experiences. Please don’t write off the entire organization because of what a few select individuals may have done. And I hope that you will try to report this kind of thing in the future, should you ever encounter it again. You have the right to speak with a counselor that is accepting, understanding and supportive. You can always ask to be connected to a different counselor, ask to be connected with the supervisor (there is always one on shift for POV), or try reporting the individual counselor for their misconduct.

All of my experiences with RAINN have been fantastic. I deeply appreciate the work they do, and I feel blessed to be a part of that work.

And for those who are interested, here is the contact info for Peace Over Violence:

http://www.peaceoverviolence.org/

24 Hour Rape, Battering, & Domestic Violence Hotlines (you can call any of the following numbers and be connected with a POV counselor):

626.793.3385
310.392.8381
213.626.3393