Survivors of sexual violence face uphill battles in finding support, seeking justice, and being believed. But for LGBTQ+ survivors, that fight has always been HARD. Now, in a time when support should be expanding to include all survivors, we’re seeing something far more insidious happening—the very organizations helping survivors are erasing LGBTQ+ survivors.
I know this because it happened to me.
I once trusted RAINN, the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, to be a beacon of support for all survivors. Years ago, I did an interview with them about my memoir, Blackout Girl, where I spoke openly about my experiences as a queer survivor of sexual violence. It was a powerful conversation—one that I hoped would reach other LGBTQ+ survivors who so often feel invisible in these spaces.
And then, without warning, that interview disappeared.
RAINN quietly erased it from their website, wiping away my voice, my story, and the representation that so many LGBTQ+ survivors desperately need. They removed any reference to the LGBTQ+ community, including lifesaving resources, statistics, and stories like mine, out of fear that the Trump administration would cut their federal funding.
The Erasure of LGBTQ+ Survivors Is Systemic
RAINN isn’t the only organization engaging in this quiet erasure. Across the country, sexual violence support agencies are stripping LGBTQ+ survivors from their webpages, removing language that acknowledges their unique experiences, and replacing inclusive messaging with vague, sanitized rhetoric designed to appease a political climate that grows more hostile by the day.
These organizations—many of which once stood as safe havens for survivors of all backgrounds—are now actively choosing to exclude some of the most at-risk individuals from their resources. And the consequences are devastating.
The Reality of LGBTQ+ Survivors
LGBTQ+ individuals face disproportionate rates of sexual violence. Studies show that:
- Nearly half of bisexual women (46%) and 1 in 3 lesbian women (37%) experience sexual violence in their lifetime.
- 47% of transgender people experience sexual assault at some point in their lives.
- LGBTQ+ youth are far more likely to be targeted by predators, traffickers, and abusers, especially if they are unhoused or rejected by their families.
Yet, despite these horrifying statistics, LGBTQ+ survivors often struggle to find support. Many rape crisis centers, shelters, and advocacy organizations remain rooted in cisgender, heterosexual frameworks that don’t account for the specific needs of queer survivors. And now, with the active removal of LGBTQ+ representation from major organizations’ public materials, the message is clear: You do not belong here.
The Harm of Erasure
For survivors, visibility is everything. When you’ve been violated in one of the most traumatic ways possible, knowing that someone else has walked that path before you—and survived—can be life-changing. Seeing yourself represented in support networks gives you the courage to reach out, to heal, and to believe that you are not alone.
But what happens when that representation is scrubbed away?
When organizations like RAINN erase LGBTQ+ survivor stories, they aren’t just making a quiet website update. They are actively contributing to a culture of silence and shame. They are reinforcing the false narrative that LGBTQ+ people are disposable and that their experiences don’t matter.
For many LGBTQ+ survivors, particularly those who are young, closeted, or living in hostile environments, an online resource may be their only access to support. When those resources become less inclusive—when LGBTQ+ identities are erased—it can mean the difference between a survivor seeking help or suffering in silence.
Why Is This Happening?
The Trump administration is signing multiple executive orders daily threatening groups receiving federal funding to eliminate:
- DEI Programs
- Support and Resources for LGBTQ+ People
- Any Sex Beyond Male or Female
Or lose your federal funding.
Sexual assault organizations immediately complied by erasing all references to the LGBTQ+ community and DEI.
The erasure of LGBTQ+ survivors is not happening in a vacuum. It is part of a broader cultural and political movement aimed at stripping away their rights, visibility, and protection.
We have seen it in schools, where LGBTQ+ books and discussions are being banned.
We have seen it in politics, where anti-LGBTQ+ legislation is skyrocketing.
And now, we see it in the very spaces that are supposed to help survivors heal.
Erasing LGBTQ+ survivors is not neutrality. It is complicity. It is a choice to prioritize comfort over justice and cater to prejudice rather than protect those most in need.
We Must Demand Better
Survivors deserve more.
LGBTQ+ survivors deserve:
- To see themselves in the resources that exist to help them
- To know that their experiences are valid,
- That their pain matters,
- And that they will not be dismissed out of fear
And for those of us being erased—we will not be silent.
My story is still here.
The stories of LGBTQ+ survivors are still here.
And no matter how hard they try, they will never erase us.
Andreozzi + Foote actively represents LGBTQ+ survivors and always will.
