Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services
Crisis Line 877-345-5534

For the health and safety of our staff and clients, please call first and speak with an advocate.

Serving Red Willow, Chase Dundy, Frontier, Furnas, Hayes and Hitchcock Counties in Southwest Nebraska.

Domestic Abuse/Sexual Assault Services
407 West 5th
McCook, NE 69001
ph: 308.345.1612
fax: 308.345.4177
das@dasas.net

Domestic Violence

Domestic Violence (also called intimate partner violence/abuse) is a pattern of violent and coercive behaviors used to establish power and control over an intimate partner through fear and intimidation. The abuse may be physical, emotional, sexual, economic, or spiritual. Domestic violence does not discriminate. It happens among heterosexual couples and in same-sex partnerships. It can happen regardless of one's age, race, ethnicity, religious or cultural beliefs, gender, sexual orientation, education, and socio-economic status. The bottom line is that abusive behavior is never acceptable, whether it’s coming from a man, a woman, a teenager, or an older adult. You deserve to feel valued, respected, and safe. You do not deserve to be abused, nor are you responsible for the abuse.

When a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) person is abusive to his or her partner, we often do not recognize it as domestic violence because of false expectations that men should be able to defend themselves and stereotypes that all women are safe, or that both partners are equally abusive.

The truth is that domestic abuse is a serious problem and can occur in any relationship. An individual's size, strength, politics or personality does not determine whether he or she can be abused or be an abuser. As with heterosexual domestic abuse, domestic abuse in the gay community cuts across all class and race lines.

Finding safety and support may be difficult for the victim of LGBT partner violence or sexual assault. Abusers have the additional power of threatening to expose their partners if their partners are not “out” to their families or employers. A lesbian batterer may work as a battered women's advocate and have easy access to shelters. Gay men may not be taken seriously by police or judges who assume their conflict is mutual combat rather than a pattern of abuse. Transgender victims often confront prejudice from police and others based on their appearance.

Advocates at DASAS are sensitive to these issues and can assist LGBT victims with safety planning and crisis intervention.