LGBTQ partner violence is a serious issue and judges need to better understand how common dynamics of abuse may present differently in this community.
For instance, when a man is being abused by an intimate partner who is also a man, judges in Montgomery County appear to be more likely to decide that the assault was “mutual.” Judges may be more ready to assume that a male can protect himself and shouldn’t need the court to intervene. That’s dangerous.
Transsexual people and people that don’t identify as one of the two traditional gender norms are at particularly elevated risk for abuse from partners, and from the general public as well.
