Canada is at the forefront of countries that push for human rights; marriage for same-sex couples is one such example. From a perspective of legal equality, the gay and lesbian communities have turned towards social and humanitarian issues which will lead them to true equality. Among these issues is the problem of domestic violence as it pertains to gay and lesbian realities and people of other sexual diversity.

Violence within the family does indeed affect gays, lesbians, and bisexuals, and people of all sexual diversities. This reality has often been ignored, and hidden, due to factors that are at the same time cultural, religious and social.

Even though people's ways of thinking have improved, gays and lesbians still have to deal with violence within their own family. More often, this violence surfaces when a boy is tagged as being gay and when a girl is viewed as being a lesbian, upon the disclosure of their homosexual orientation; or even when a parent reveals his or her homosexual orientation to family members.

Domestic violence can emerge in various ways, ranging from a simple hint at it to actual physical violence:

• Psychological violence, the most frequent form, includes insinuations, insults, accusations, threats, unjustified punishment, and other wrongdoings between children themselves;
• Monetary and financial violence entails blackmail and threats to cut off allowances; it can go as far as throwing a child out from the family home;
• The most extreme form of violence, physical violence, consists of hitting, confinement, or imposing any other form of corporal punishment.

There are numerous repercussions from domestic violence: it influences children's psychological development; it gives rise to behavioural problems, sexual disorders and, in some cases, leaves permanent physical damage.

Combined with their already vulnerable state during a sexual identity crisis over being homosexual, a climate of domestic violence can mean specific after-effects for gays and lesbians. What's more, numerous studies have proved that gay and lesbian youth have a greater risk of suicide than do heterosexual youth.

In short, parents need to be aware of potential damage caused by a climate of violence within the family.

Family Violence: from Home to Work

There might be an impact on the job productivity of an employee struggling with family violence. The job world and family world are two closely connected environments. Independently from people’s sexual orientation, repercussions from family violence are bound to be felt at work. Whether through help programmes at work or through other means, employers must support their employees dealing with problems due to family violence.

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