I don't have enough of a following for this to make any impact at all, but I just wanted to say that #toxicmasculinity doesn't only harm #heterosexual #cis #women in straight/opposite sex relationships. Male-to-female violence is a problem, but #domesticabuse doesn't begin & 1/x

End with violent men. Those of us who are #LGBTQ experience #domesticabuse too. I NEVER see my experiences represented in the conversation. Not ever. Whilst there are some people who would tell me that I just want to paint myself as a victim, or I'm just looking for excuses 2/x

To make a fuss, I don't agree. Intersectionality is important. It's not only about feeling included & seen (both important anyway, imho), it's also about actual access to support services, to the criminal justice system. I experienced male-to-female violence growing up & from 3/x

A young age. It's terrifying to be physically attacked by someone bigger & stronger than you. It's important we talk about this. But it's also important that we don't define #domesticabuse as *only* male-to-female violence. It leaves people out. Abusive #lesbian relationships 4/x

Exist too. I was in one. It was both emotionally & sexually abusive. She never violently attacked me, but coerced, non-consenual sex, controlling behaviour, psychological abuse, assaults on the core of who I was & gaslighting were the norm. No one talks about this in #LGBTQ 5/x

Relationships. Which makes it harder to understand what's happening. When #domesticabuse & #rape are defined as something perpetrated by men, it's so much harder to identify it when it's perpetrated by a woman. It looks different. You're left with a sense that something isn't 6/x

Right but can't identify what. Your abusive partner tells you what's wrong is the core of who you are, & there is no outside information available to provide an alternative story. When the relationship ended, there were no resources to help me understand #abuse in #lesbian 7/x

Relationships. If they exist they are so well hidden that I never found them. But it's not just about visibility, about inclusion because its the right thing to do... I eventually, with the help of a therapist, came to understand what happened to me as #abuse, as #rape. 8/x

I approached my local #SARC. They were kind, but one of the first things they said to me was that, because I was raped by a woman, should I want to report it it wouldn't be classed as #rape. Legally I could only report #sexualassault. Regardless of the impact on me, the crime 9/x

Would always be a lesser one than if precisely the same acts had been perpetrated by a man.
I was also referred to a well known #domesticabuse charity for group work. I asked about their definition of #domesticabuse & whether it would be defined as only male-to-female abuse 10/x