Addressing violence at home and in the streets: Being safe and staying safe in all parts of our lives

PLENARY Audre Room, ground floor

How does heteronormativity influence lesbian relationships? How does heteronormativity work in the public sphere? And what are the effects on our intimacies?

Lesbians grow up in a patriarchal culture and internalise its misogyny and values. Psychological violence in the forms of jealousy and control often become a feature of our intimate relationships even if we are not able to recognise it as such. We will discuss this and also look at the connections between normative lesbian relationships and the (non-) existence of appropriate spaces for a public discourse on domestic violence within our movement.