Penny Port
19 Dec 2004
Sheffield, South Yorkshire (United Kingdom)
Stabbed
TDoR list ref: tdor.info/19 Dec 2004/Penny Port
Penny was stabbed to death by one of her sons during a domestic dispute.
Domestic violence is generally seen as violence perpetrated by a male against his female partner. But statistics show that the same type of violence exists between same sex couples, between straight people and their LGBT siblings, between parents and their LGBT children and vice versa. The permutations are wide and varied. Just as domestic violence by men against their women partners used to go unreported, so too to some extent does domestic violence against LGBT people: “For LGBT people who are beaten up and abused by their partners everyday, deliberately infected with HIV, threatened with ‘outing’ or having their children removed, life is hell.” [Broken Rainbow (an LGBT domestic violence support charity) Annual Report 2004/05}.
“One of the consequences of the conspiracy of silence is that many members of our community stay in miserable and dangerous situations, unable to recognise and label their experience as ‘domestic abuse’ and look for help.” [Out in UNISON Summer 2007] This comment refers particularly to domestic violence within same sex relationships and highlights how, in a number of instances, victims of domestic violence feel ‘unable to look for help’. When the LGBT person suffering domestic violence is young the situation can lead to an even more dangerous situation – running away from home; homelessness; drugs; prostitution; suicide!
An instance of the potential conflict arising from LGBT issues that can be created within a family occurred in Sheffield in December 2004; one which led to a fatal result. A father of two teenage sons, both of whom lived with their mother, was living as a woman and taking prescribed medication whilst awaiting gender reassigning surgery. A dispute arose between [her] and [her] former wife which led to the [trans woman] entering [her] former wife’s home and during an altercation with both sons was stabbed several times by one of them. The incident was a tragic one as both sons were supportive of their father’s need to live as a woman. It was stated in the case that when presenting as a man, the victim appeared more erratic and sometimes more aggressive than when presenting as a woman. Though the son stood accused of murder, and found guilty of manslaughter, the case highlighted the complexities of understanding the emotions and behaviour of someone transitioning from one gender to another. As said in the trial, there were three victims in this unfortunate case, not one.
http://www.sheffield-unison.org.uk/sogs/Steel%20City%20Rainbow%20v3.pdf
