Overview
“Family Justice Centers and Multi-Agency Centers are multi-agency, multi-disciplinary co-located service centers that provide services to victims of interpersonal violence including intimate partner violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder or dependent adult abuse, and human trafficking. Both public and private partner agencies assign staff on a full-time or part-time basis to provide services from one location.” – Family Justice Center Alliance[i]
Often, Family Justice Centers (FJC) include domestic and sexual violence agencies, law enforcement, court services, social services, child welfare, and other survivor-serving organizations. The idea behind FJCs is to create one physical location where survivors and their families can access many services at once.
As communities increasingly turn to Family Justice Centers as “one-stop shops” for victim services, it is important to consider how trans and nonbinary survivors will be able to access those services. Housing multiple services in one location can simplify referrals, strengthen partnerships, and make support easier to navigate. At the same time, a centralized model can create barriers for trans and nonbinary survivors, including police presence, public visibility, and the number of people they may encounter. Family Justice Centers can reduce those barriers by designing services that are intentionally inclusive.
This section highlights barriers that trans and nonbinary survivors may face when accessing Family Justice Centers and offers practical steps centers can take to reduce those barriers. It is intended to help FJCs evaluate their physical spaces, partnerships, intake systems, referrals, and staff practices through a trans-affirming and trauma-informed lens.
Trans Specific Dynamics
Common barriers
Family Justice Centers face the same barriers in reaching marginalized communities as do all other mainstream victim services providers. They also face some added complexities.
The presence of law enforcement
The Family Justice Center model almost always includes law enforcement and court systems as key agencies with a presence at the center. While this may increase access for some survivors, it can be a major barrier for others. Trans and nonbinary people report high rates of negative experiences with law enforcement and high levels of distrust of police (USTS 2022).[ii] Communities that are at increased risk of police violence, including Black, Brown, disabled, and trans communities, may be especially hesitant to work with police. People who hold multiple marginalized identities may face even greater risk. These survivors may not feel safe accessing a building where law enforcement is present, particularly if they have a criminal record or were engaged in activity considered unlawful around the time of the violence, including drug use or sex work.
Law enforcement has a long history of targeting trans/nonbinary communities. “Walking while trans” is a phrase used to describe the experiences of many trans people – especially trans women of color – who are stopped and harassed by law enforcement for no reason other than a bias from the officer that assumes trans people are more likely to be engaged in activity considered illegal.[iii] Trans women, especially trans women of color, report that they are often assumed to be engaging in sex work. Because of this history, the presence of law enforcement can make some trans and nonbinary survivors feel less safe seeking services at an FJC.
Concerns about privacy
Privacy and confidentiality are major concerns for many trans and nonbinary people. When many services are located in one central place, survivors may worry that more people will have access to their personal information. Trans and nonbinary people may not be comfortable with every provider knowing their gender identity, name history, or other personal details. Controlling that information can become more difficult when providers are in the same location or share intake information.
Additionally, trans/nonbinary survivors may be concerned about the other people around them, including other survivors. Survivors often have concerns about how their safety and privacy will be protected with so many more people around. The more people who are around, the more likely a trans person is to be recognized, outed, or harassed.
Concerns about outing as a survivor.
In that same vein, FJCs are often more public than domestic violence or sexual assault centers, which may have confidential locations. A public location can make services easier to find, but it may also identify visitors as survivors in a way that a more private location would not.
Not all service providers are trans-affirming.
FJCs should plan for trans people’s access across every part of their services, including intake forms, bathrooms, supplies, safety planning, referrals, and program design. Because partner agencies may have different levels of experience with trans communities, FJCs should set shared expectations for respectful language, confidentiality, pronoun use, and survivor choice.
Inadequate staff training.
Trans people frequently report that even when they have good interactions with one service provider, they may be mistreated by other staff at the same organization, such as front desk staff. With many different partners engaged at an FJC, it can be difficult to ensure that everyone receives the same level of training. Few victim service providers devote adequate training and resources to serving trans communities. Too often, training on working with transgender communities is optional rather than part of the core curriculum.
Providers may have gendered understandings of abuse and violence.
Many service providers working within FJCs may understand violence primarily as harm perpetrated by men against women within family units. While that framework describes a significant amount of intimate partner violence, it does not fit the experiences of many trans and nonbinary people. Understanding the role of sexism in interpersonal violence remains critical to ending violence, and services should also make clear that support is available to people of all genders and family structures.
Child welfare issues
Child welfare organizations may be another partner involved in Family Justice Centers. Many people report distrust of child welfare agencies, especially those associated with child protective investigations. Trans and nonbinary people are particularly vulnerable to abuse, bias, and unfair targeting by these agencies. The amount of fear and distrust varies by community and by state, because state laws can have a major impact on the role of child welfare agencies in trans people’s lives.
Transgender parents are often overly scrutinized by child welfare agencies. Trans people describe being investigated and threatened with child removal solely due to the parent’s gender. Parents of trans children may also fear that their gender-affirming care for their child will be wrongfully interpreted as abuse. In some states, such as Texas, there has been specific guidance to investigate the parents of transgender children.[iv]
Key Tips for Service Providers
Ensure all staff know how to respectfully engage with trans people.
Consider who survivors encounter anytime they enter your FJC. Often there is someone at a front desk. There may be advocates or other staff around. There might be security or cleaning staff. All of these staff and volunteers should have training on working with transgender people to help minimize the likelihood that someone will be misgendered or otherwise insulted or harmed while at the center.
Have inclusive intakes and paperwork.
Many FJCs have consolidated paperwork to try to streamline the intake process for survivors. For trans and nonbinary survivors, this paperwork is a chance to signal that an FJC will be an affirming and inclusive environment.
It can be helpful to view the intake process from the experience of several different trans and nonbinary survivors. This can help an agency identify gaps in its procedures and staff knowledge. For example, if intakes are shared among agencies, FJCs may benefit from giving survivors clear choices about what information is shared instead of defaulting to sharing all details. If a survivor asks to use different names with different agencies, all staff should know how to honor that request without outing or confusing the survivor.
Clearly share how people may interact with police and child welfare systems.
Transparency is a key principle of trauma-informed services. FJCs can make it clear to all survivors what their policies are regarding interactions with law enforcement and child welfare. This includes mandatory reporting policies, what information is shared between organizations, and who survivors might encounter or be near at the FJC. This information is vital for survivors to make informed decisions about working with an FJC. Outreach materials may advertise all available services and should also state that survivors can choose which services they want to use.
When possible, consider arranging offices and shared spaces within the building to minimize unwanted encounters between law enforcement and survivors. For example, in a multi-story building, law enforcement, court services, and child welfare could be housed on an upper floor so survivors do not have to be near those systems unless they choose to access them.
Create police free places.
Survivors need options. While some trans and nonbinary survivors will want to engage with law enforcement after a crime, others will not. Both choices should be equally respected. Survivors should have access to spaces and agencies that are not connected to law enforcement. If the only place survivors can go for services has a police presence, some survivors will not seek services. Agencies with offices at an FJC, including domestic and sexual violence agencies, mental and physical health providers, and social service organizations, can benefit from maintaining service locations that are not shared with law enforcement.
Provide transportation options.
Transportation is a major barrier for many survivors, including trans and nonbinary people. Trans and nonbinary survivors’ transportation options may be limited not only by poverty and lack of resources, but also by anti-trans harassment and violence. Some trans people may not be safe using rideshares or public transportation. Transportation provided by the agency may be the safest option. When that is not possible, work with survivors to identify what feels safest for them and help meet that need. Different trans survivors will have different safety needs.
Have all gender bathrooms.
Ensure that people of all genders have safe and accessible bathroom options. This can include single-stall gender-neutral bathrooms and all-gender multi-stall facilities. If gendered facilities are provided, people should be allowed to use the facility that matches their needs without harassment, questioning, or fear.
Ensure referrals and resources include trans-affirming options.
[i] Family justice centers. Alliance for HOPE International. https://www.familyjusticecenter.org/affiliated-centers/family-justice-centers-2/
[ii] James, S.E., Herman, J.L., Durso, L.E., & Heng-Lehtinen, R. (2024). Early Insights: A Report of the 2022 U.S. Transgender Survey. National Center for Transgender Equality, Washington, DC. https://transequality.org/sites/default/files/2024-02/2022%20USTS%20Early%20Insights%20Report_FINAL.pdf
[iv] American Civil Liberties Union. (n.d.). Texas’ attempt to tear parents and trans youth apart: One year later. https://www.aclu.org/news/lgbtq-rights/texas-attempt-to-tear-parents-and-trans-youth-apart-one-year-later