Educate, advocate, Empower

LGBT+ Sexual Violence Certificate

Designed for professionals who want the confidence and specialist knowledge to advocate for LGBT+ victims and survivors of sexual violence.

LGBT+ people who experience sexual violence and abuse face multiple barriers when accessing support, including not knowing whether their identity, relationships, or experiences will be understood and respected.

That’s why Galop has launched a first-of-its-kind course to ensure professionals and support services can meet the needs of LGBT+ victims and survivors of sexual violence.

Informed by 40+ years of specialist frontline LGBT+ abuse and violence support, this course is evidence-based, trauma-informed, and driven by the unique experiences of LGBT+ victims and survivors.

This ground breaking course has been designed for ISVAs, sexual violence professionals, and anti-violence professionals who want to expand their knowledge to better recognise and respond to LGBT+ experiences of sexual violence. You'll be building a future where no LGBT+ victim or survivor of sexual violence is left without safe support.

With this 4-week course you will:

Build knowledge in LGBT+ identities, terminology, and intersectionality
Incorporate understanding of historical, social, and political contexts
Recognise the distinct challenges faced by LGBT+ victims and survivors
Reduce structural and interpersonal barriers to safety and support
Develop creative approaches to LGBT+ inclusion in anti-violence systems
Strengthen your communication, data collection, and engagement skills with LGBT+ people
Critically reflect on power, positionality, and professional challenging
Strengthen LGBT+ inclusive advocacy skills, leading to better outcomes

Format

Part-time, online

Length

4 weeks -
1 day a week

Type

Certificate

Cost

£850.00

Strengthen your ability to support LGBT+ victims and survivors with trauma-informed care that builds trust from your first contact. You’ll gain expert insights into the unique barriers faced by LGBT+ people to increase access to your support and ensure clients remain engaged.

Improve student engagement and trust from LGBT+ people in your campus community. This can increase contact, reporting, and access from some of your most isolated students.

Strengthen your understanding of the intersection between domestic abuse and sexual violence. Better recognise how power and control can be taken from LGBT+ survivors through acts of sexual violence.

Deliver more inclusive and survivor-centred care by developing you understanding of the needs, stigma, and barriers faced by LGBT+ victims and survivors.

Build credibility and trust with LGBT+ victims and survivors, leading to stronger cooperation and better investigative outcomes.

Deepen your trauma-informed practice with insight into how positionality and systemic discrimination intersect with LGBT+ experiences of sexual violence.

Deliver more effective anti-violence programmes which reflect the lived reality of LGBT+ relationships, consent, and community impacts.

Galop works directly with thousands of LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violence every year. We specialise in supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, hate crime, honour-based abuse, forced marriage, conversion practices, and other forms of interpersonal abuse.

Course days of focus

Day 1: Building a Foundation

Learners will establish core knowledge on LGBT+ identities, communication best practices, and the socio-historical context shaping survivor experiences and overarching barriers.

Day 2: Developing Best Practice Skills

Learners will deepen their understanding of the barriers LGBT+ survivors face when engaging with services and routes to support. We’ll strengthen your skills in developing inclusive support pathways, LGBT+ and trauma-informed approaches, and professional challenging.

Day 3: Advanced Risk Management

Learners will build advanced skills in assessing and managing risks faced by LGBT+ victims and survivors. This day focuses on safety planning, institutional advocacy, and working with SARCS. Learners will develop LGBT+ advocacy skills across anti-violence systems and structures.

Day 4: Embedding Learning in Criminal Justice Systems

Learners will gain understanding of LGBT+ experiences within criminal justice systems. Together, we’ll explore stereotypes, myths, and systemic bias about LGBT+ experiences of sexual violence, and then embed this learning through case exploration and role play.

"Really insightful, [the facilitator] was so engaging and created a safe space for people to talk and participate. There were never any moments that I felt stupid, or that I was saying the wrong thing, when I fed back even if I wasn't sure."

"The course is a great way to learn about best practice when supporting LGBT+ survivors, even if you already have a baseline level of knowledge, there is so much to learn both from the course and the other learners.

It has really helped develop my confidence approaching conversations with LGBT+ survivors on their needs, being professionally curious, and managing potential risks or harms."

"Excellent clarifications/ summarising, confidence building in such a lovely safe way. Thank you so much, really well facilitated. I don't often say that especially for a online course!

You encouraged and put correct pressure on to engage and I think the balance was perfect."

The course is grounded in the ISVA Code of Practice, ensuring all content aligns with nationally recognised standards for supporting victims and survivors of sexual violence. We translate these principles into practical, LGBT+ inclusive approaches, enabling professionals to deliver ethical, trauma-informed, and high-quality advocacy in their day-to-day work.

This course is built from expert knowledge, gained from over 40 years of frontline support with LGBT+ victims and survivors and has been informed by members of Galop's Lived Experience Network.

One LGBT+ survivor stated: "Being an LGBT+ survivor immediately 'others' me. I'm not just a victim of sexual violence, I'm an LGBT+ version of that. So I feel extra defensive - will this person be ignorant/prejudiced/judgemental? Will I first have to educate this person who is supposed to be helping me? Will they question whether I am even a 'victim' at all, as my sexuality suggests, maybe, that I'm a deviant, or grateful for the attention, or that I asked for it? "

Galop works directly with thousands of LGBT+ people who have experienced abuse and violence every year. We specialise in supporting victims and survivors of domestic abuse, sexual violence, hate crime, honour-based abuse, forced marriage, conversion practices, and other forms of interpersonal abuse. We are a service run by LGBT+ people, for LGBT+ people, and the needs of our community are at the centre of what we do.

Our trainings and education are evidence-based, trauma-informed and reflect our decades of frontline experienced and national research.

Reflecting the largest evidence base on LGBT+ experiences of abuse and violence in Europe, our insights into best practices are unparalleled.

We are committed to learning together in a brave space, which is one that welcomes disagreement, complexity, and growth, while remaining rooted in respect, care, and accountability.

Throughout this course, we’ll be working in action learning groups. Action learning is defined as a "continuous process of learning and reflection, supported by colleagues, with an intention of getting things done" (McGill & Beaty, 2001, p.11).

Risk is not distributed equally amongst the LGBT+ community. We'll consider the multiple intersections of a individuals' positionality and how this can impact their access to support, sexual violence experiences, and additional risks.

When we say "LGBT+ victims and survivors" we never mean one 'homogenous group'. LGBT+ victims and survivors have intersecting identities and experiences of marginalisation, related to race and ethnicity, faith, disability, age, and class. We understand how experiences of poverty, asylum-seeking status, mental health challenges and other inequalities can affect the level of risk an LGBT+ person faces, as well as the barriers that prevent the LGBT+ community from accessing sexual violence support. We’ll help you understand this too.

Since this course isn't an ISVA qualification, we expect learners to have some sexual violence and/or anti-violence knowledge. No prior LGBT+ knowledge is needed to join the course.

Live learning days will take place every Thursday from July 30th - August 13th over Teams.

Live learning days will run from 9:30 am - 4:30 pm with time for lunch and breaks included.

The course is run remotely online so it can be accessed from anywhere in the UK with an internet connection. We invite learners from across the UK to join us.

The course schedule has been designed to give one week between each live learning day to give you time to complete readings and minor coursework. There will be a final assignment in week 3 to reflect the skills gained in this course.

You will need access to a computer and the internet to participate in this course.

You must be 18 and over to attend this course.

To ensure collaborative advocacy skills, the course utilises action learning approaches, online group discussion, and partner exercises to ensure that participants aren't just learning from the facilitator, but each other as well.

Please feel welcome to reach out to training@galop.org.uk with the subject line "SV Course Additional Support" and someone will get back to you. Learning access is important to us and we're always happy to explore how we can best meet your learning needs.

Attendance at all live dates is mandatory for this course, unless agreed with the course facilitator or extraordinary circumstances occur. If you need to negotiate this, please reach out to training@galop.org.uk.

Please reach out to training@galop.org.uk to make price adjustment requests.

Yes! We offer discounts for those purchasing places for 5 or more learners. Please reach out to training@galop.org.uk to request this.

LGBT+ people who experience sexual violence and abuse face multiple barriers when accessing support, including not knowing whether their identity, relationships, or experiences will be understood and respected by professionals.

LGBT+ victims and survivors of sexual violence should be able to access support that feels right for them. When all sexual violence professionals have strong LGBT+ knowledge and skills, it ensures that survivors are not as limited by these barriers - returning real choice and autonomy.

LGBT+ Sexual Violence Certificate