While all young victims of dating abuse face obstacles to getting help, LGBTQ youth are in a particularly difficult situation:

• Abusive partners may threaten to “out” their victims.
• Abusers may make their victims feel ashamed about their sexual orientation or gender identity.
• Adults and friends may not take the abuse seriously because they believe the myth that domestic violence only occurs in opposite-sex relationships.

While the rate of violence in the LGBTQ community mirrors that of straight relationships, less than 25% of all victims report their abuse. LGBTQ youth need to know they are not alone and there are confidential resources available specifically for them. Break the Cycle is proud to have a long-standing commitment to LGBTQ youth, beginning in 2008 with the “Rainbow Response” Coalition, which reached more than 3,000 DC youth in its first year.

Hear My Voice Campaign

In 2009, Break the Cycle was awarded prestigious funding from the US Department of Justice to create Hear My Voice, the first national campaign specifically designed to educate LGBTQ youth about dating violence. Since its launch, the campaign has distributed resources to nearly 10,000 young people and advocates in the Austin, Chicago and Los Angeles and launched a special website: hearmyvoice.breakthecycle.org.

Show Me Love DC!

Since 2008, the Show Me Love campaign has educated and engaged the District of Columbia’s LGBTQ community to prevent and end dating violence. Providing bilingual resources and connections to Break the Cycle’s legal services, the Show Me Love campaign has reached more than 10,000 DC residents.

Our Partners

Break the Cycle is proud to create partnerships with service providers and organizations dedicated to helping LGBTQ youth, including Lifeworks, the LA Gay and Lesbian Center, the City of West Hollywood (CA) and the US Department of Education. We are also grateful for the wonderful support and guidance from our diverse panel of experts representing many facets of the LGBTQ and allied community:

Break the Cycle is grateful for the support from the US Department of Justice, Office for Victims of Crime, the Verizon Foundation and the Geffen Foundation for support of our LGBTQ outreach efforts.