Abuse and sexual harassment in our community

The current presidential administration does not understand spousal abuse or sexual harassment. Most are saying that the person at fault stops at the door of the chief of staff but, no, it stops in the Oval Office at the desk of President Donald Trump.

Former President Harry Truman had a sign on his desk stating, “The buck stops here.” He took responsibility. Trump runs and hides from it like a bad bully.

This column isn’t about Trump, but it is about sexual harassment and abuse that we don’t talk about much in our community.

Several years ago, PGN did a feature on spousal abuse in the community. We’re not immune to the same problems that heterosexuals have. And we have it in the same forms. This includes sexual harassment, spousal abuse and sexual advances in the workplace — both in nonprofit and for-profit organizations. We have been quiet on the subject. How many times have you read about it in your LGBT media? We need to do a better job as well.

We all know it exists. In my memoir, I wrote about an abusive relationship I was in. Like me, I’m sure you know others who have experienced harassment or abuse. We need institutions in the community to help those who seek help: those who are afraid to leave their spouse; those who need treatment; and those seeking a voice.

We can’t solve every issue and this is one we’ll have to deal with, like we have with bullying, trans issues, ageism and so many other issues on our agenda. But remember: We’re — in a sense — a new community, which only began creating organizations that offered services in 1969. We have a lot of growth ahead of us.

Look at how much we’ve already accomplished in such a short time. We’ll do this.

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