Des bleus sur l'arc-en-ciel : archéologie des dynamiques de violence dans le couple lesbien

Context. Domestic violence in lesbian couples is a widespread and largely ignored phenomenon. There is a lack of interest in this issue on the part of the various communities concerned, despite more recently renewed attention to the phenomenon. The taboos and debates surrounding female homoconjugal violence continue to exclude it from most of the movements fighting violence against women. However, each year, women suffer in silence from their partner's violence and each year these victims lose themselves a little more in the invisibility of their condition. The subject of conjugal violence in the lesbian couple raises many questions both on understanding and on the clinical solutions proposed. How to provide an appropriate response to this category of unrecognized victims who are very often confronted with intolerance, prejudice and ignorance from those who are supposed to help them? Methods. Women victims of domestic violence in a lesbian couple were met as well as practitioners from several disciplines of the humanities familiar with the theme of female homosexual violence. Using an interview guide and semi-structured interviews, we asked them to describe their experiences on this issue. The meaning they give to the violence experienced or reported has been gathered from a Weberian sociological perspective. The data analysis was scrupulously carried out according to a very precise grid in order to bring out the most emblematic themes and sub-themes of their narratives. The interdisciplinary perspective allows us for a more complete holistic understanding of the problem and can also be considered in itself as an avenue of intervention in the context of female homosexual violence Results. It appears that the type of violence abusers most commonly use to exert power, domination or control on the victim is psychological, verbal, sexual and, to a lesser degree, physical to exercise an authority, a domination, and a control on the victim. The conjugal violence cycle was also identified. In comparison to female victims of male partners, female homo-conjugal victims experience greater social isolation and stress, largely related to their sexual orientation, commonly referred to as stress of sexual minorities. New types of domestic violence have also been identified, such as internalized lesbophobia. Violence between two women is trivialized, minimized, and reduced to “cat fights.” This conception considerably detracts from the reality of what is happening in the lesbian alcove. Above all, it constitutes an additional attack on the victim. Finally, it appears that counseling support is very problematic and unsatisfactory for these women because of the lack of adequate support structures, training for practitioners and awareness of lesbian conjugal violence phenomenon. Furthermore, the prejudice from different personal socio-judiciary regarding lesbianism is still taking a stronger hold and can slow down the intervention process. Conclusion. Domestic violence in the lesbian couple is rooted in the spider web that the abuser weaves to take power over his partner with the complicity of society's harmful view of lesbianism, lack of information and professional training on the subject as well as the silence of the communities on violence against women. We must promote the mobilization, inclusion, education, information and training of all on this important issue. Domestic violence between lesbians is not a private matter. This is everyone's problem.

Keyphrases: Intervention, Ressources, Domestic violent, IPV, Lesbien domestic violence, Femal homo-conjugal, Sexual minority, Lesbians