Overview
Support groups can be a critical point of connection for survivors. They offer spaces where survivors meet people with both similar and different experiences, practice supportive connection, learn healing strategies, and receive care in a survivor-centered environment.
Trans and nonbinary people may not feel that they have a place in gendered support groups. Many trans men and transmasculine people have experienced sexual violence, and support groups described as “women and nonbinary people” can feel particularly exclusionary when there is no additional group for male survivors or groups for “men and nonbinary people.” Trans women and transfeminine people may also be excluded from women’s groups, or included in name only while not being treated in a welcoming way. State and federal policies that attempt to dictate who is eligible for “women’s” services can intensify these barriers.
In 2023, one support group facilitator shared:
“For Florida, it’s actually something that we’re contractually required to do is to have single gender support groups, for example. And so, for practical reasons, we never have enough men to have men’s support groups anyway. So it really just ends up being women support groups or one on one services.”[i]
Some organizations only offer support groups for survivors who are women and frame perpetrators as men. This reinforces the gender binary in a particularly harmful way for trans and nonbinary survivors, who may be excluded from support because their identities or experiences do not fit either assumption.
When trans survivors choose to participate in gendered support groups, they may feel pressure to set aside parts of their identity in order to remain in the space. That pressure keeps the whole person from showing up and can make support feel conditional. For example, one participant in a listening session shared why they stopped correcting people on their pronouns:
“I had a therapist in group therapy, and he was a lovely man, a gay man, and he would misgender me every single time. Sometimes he would catch himself, and sometimes other people would catch it for me, and I got so tired of correcting. I just get so tired of correcting anybody that I just usually give up. I’m like, whatever… I don’t typically put my pronouns on anything, I leave them blank, because sometimes I get tired of fighting the fight.”[ii]
Key Tips for Service Providers
The practices below can help facilitators create groups where trans and nonbinary survivors do not have to choose between safety, authenticity, and access to support.
- Make sure survivors of all genders can access equitable services, as required by federal law.
- Use clear, direct language in group descriptions that explicitly welcomes trans and nonbinary survivors.
- Understand how gender-integrated support groups can reduce exclusion and create more options for survivors of different genders, as well as many other benefits.
- Recognize that many trans and nonbinary survivors may not feel welcome in gender-segregated groups.
- Be mindful of policies that reinforce the binary that only women are victims and only men are perpetrators.
- Advocate for organizational policies that center trans survivors from the beginning, rather than treating them as an afterthought.
Setting the tone for trans inclusion
Set the tone for trans inclusion from the start. Facilitators can do this by sharing pronouns and inviting others to share theirs , using non-gendered language about survivorship and violence, honoring each person’s experience, and encouraging connection across different identities and experiences.
In one listening session with FORGE, a support group facilitator described how they use community agreements to set expectations early, including the expectation that people of different genders may participate in the same support group. Although their group was officially designated for women and nonbinary people, this practice created more room for people with different identities and experiences to participate. It offers one example of how facilitators can work within imperfect systems while still making support groups more welcoming to trans and nonbinary survivors.
“When people get oriented into the organization during the intake process, we talk about the idea that some support groups you might go into, and there’ll be other people of other genders, and we walk through all genders and nonbinary with individuals, when they’re oriented in. And we give them the opportunity to understand that support groups are not limited to one gender.”[iii]
People may describe their identities in different ways and use different words. Trans and nonbinary survivors may also describe harm and violence in different ways. For example, some people may talk about harm they experienced pre-transition as harm that happened “when they were a girl” or “when they were a boy.” For others, that language may feel invalidating. Facilitators should honor the language each person uses for their own experience without generalizing it to the whole group.
Facilitators can acknowledge and honor an individual’s experience of harm, such as a nonbinary person who experienced violence from a cis man, while also avoiding binary assumptions about other people’s experiences. For example, facilitators should avoid generalizing masculinity as harmful or excluding masculine people from group spaces.
Navigating conflict
In any group setting, especially with people who have trauma histories, conflict and harm may arise. Facilitators should decide in advance how they will respond when someone says something exclusionary, when a participant feels unsafe or uncomfortable, or when harm occurs in the group. Having strategies and systems help facilitators address conflict directly without adding further harm.
Facilitators can prepare by naming expectations at the start of group, interrupting exclusionary or prejudicial comments in the moment, checking in with the person affected without putting them on the spot, and returning to community agreements when harm occurs.
The goal is not to create a perfect group, but to make consistent, visible choices that help trans and nonbinary survivors know they are expected, respected, and supported.
Resources
[Guide] Gender-Integrated Sexual Assault Support Groups: A Practical Guide for Support Group Facilitators, Therapists, and Decision-Makers — A practical guide for facilitators, therapists, and organizational decision-makers who want to design or adapt support groups so survivors of all genders can participate safely and meaningfully. [Guide] A Guide for Facilitators of Transgender Community Groups: Supporting Sexual Violence Survivors — A facilitation resource focused on supporting trans survivors in community group settings, with guidance for creating safer conversations, responding to disclosure, and grounding groups in survivor-centered practice. [Webinar] Part of the Solution: Gender Integrated Sexual Assault Support Groups — A webinar resource for learning how gender-integrated support groups can expand access, reduce exclusion, and help programs meet the needs of trans and nonbinary survivors.[Publication] Part of the Solution: Gender-Integrated Sexual Assault Support Groups — A publication that explains the rationale and practical considerations for gender-integrated sexual assault support groups, including how programs can make services more welcoming and accessible.