2016 Incident Reporting & Response
By Susan Wright
NCSF’s Incident Reporting & Response provides informational resources about kink and non-monogamy along with referrals to kink aware professionals. If you engage in BDSM, fetishes or non-monogamy practices, and you are being persecuted or discriminated against because of it, please contact NCSF. If you need help removing kink or non-monogamy as a barrier to public services, please contact NCSF. If your group or business needs help with outreach to local officials, please contact NCSF.
In 2016, 109 requests for help were received. That is almost half the number of requests received during the previous two years: 198 requests received in 2015 and 184 requests received in 2014. NCSF maintains the confidentiality of those who come to us for help, however we balance that need with the need to report the services we are providing and to provide the community with a record of where the need is the greatest.
Here is a breakdown of the cases the IRR team dealt with in 2016:
Criminal
32 people requested informational resources and referrals to kink aware professionals involved criminal issues, down from 72 requests in 2015:
16 requests from people complaining about a kink-related assault/sexual assault or harassment who needed assistance in connecting with kink-aware victim services and/or resources to educate law enforcement and prosecutors.
13 people needed a defense attorney or expert witness due to sexual assault/assault charges or restraining order involving BDSM – 1 was a military case.
1 person needed an attorney to defend against fraud charges
1 person was facing charges for posting photos without permission to FetLife
1 person needed an attorney to help keep a restraining order in place.
Groups
24 groups requested informational resources and referrals to kink aware professionals involving organizational matters. This is half the number of requests in 2015 (50) and is the same number of requests as in 2014.
16 Groups needed information on dealing with consent violations and preparing to deal with consent violations.
6 Groups were attacked this year by social conservatives and through outing. 2 involved the media and 1 event was raided by law enforcement.
2 Groups needed assistance with organization and zoning issues.
Child Custody
17 people requested informational resources and referrals to kink aware professionals regarding child custody or divorce. There was only 1 divorce case, and that involved polyamory. There were 16 child custody requests (down from 26 in 2015 and 37 in 2014):
7 involved parents who practiced polyamory
7 involved parents who do BDSM (with two involving photos taken from FetLife)
2 requests involved adoption into a poly household
Professional Education
17 professionals requested information about kink or polyamory to better serve their clients or present workshops for their professional group. These requests came from researchers, professors, clinical therapists, sex therapists, nurse practitioners, psychologists, lawyers and victim advocacy agencies.
Additional Requests
There were 19 other requests for informational resources and/or referrals to Kink Aware Professionals:
8 people reported school or job discrimination because they are kinky or polyamorous
4 people were threatened with outing to work or family involving FetLife photos
3 people requested assistance in defending or pursuing civil defamation lawsuits
2 Pro-Dommes requested resources on setting up their business legally
2 people requested assistance with unwanted media exposure
If you need NCSF’s help because of discrimination or to remove kink as a barrier to service, please contact our Incident Reporting & Response today! Email [email protected]
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