Lavender Lens Zine: A Zine on LGBTQ+ Interpersonal Violence Prevention & Education

September 2022

Lavender Lens is a zine created at the University of San Diego as a survivor-centered educational resource for LGBTQ+ communities impacted by intimate partner violence. The project emerged from a deep recognition that most conversations around abuse and prevention are framed through cisheteronormative, carceral, and often alienating lenses—leaving queer and trans survivors without language, resources, or affirmation.

Grounded in a queer and trans framework, Lavender Lens explores the realities of harm within LGBTQ+ relationships with honesty and care. It names patterns of abuse that are often overlooked or misunderstood, offers tools for recognizing harm without relying on shame or punishment, and centers prevention rooted in community care, accountability, and liberation. Rather than asking survivors to contort themselves to fit existing systems, the project asks what safety can look like when it is defined by those most impacted.

The zine was developed over a six-to-eight-month process of research, collaboration, and design. My co-author led much of the early research phase, gathering academic literature, data, and community-informed insights on LGBTQ+ interpersonal violence. In the final weeks of the project, we worked together to complete and refine the research, ensuring it remained accessible, trauma-informed, and responsive to lived experience.

I was responsible for 100% of the visual design, layout, formatting, and overall presentation of the project. This work involved translating extensive research notes into clear, readable, and emotionally considerate visual language. Design decisions—such as pacing, hierarchy, spacing, and color—were made with survivor safety in mind, prioritizing clarity without overwhelm and offering readers moments of pause and grounding alongside difficult material. The design itself functions as part of the care practice, shaping how information is received, processed, and held.

In addition to the full zine, Lavender Lens includes a practical pamphlet and a discreet wallet card featuring key reminders and resources. These materials were intentionally created to be portable, subtle, and affirming—acknowledging the realities of privacy, safety, and access for survivors navigating harm in real time.

Since its release, Lavender Lens has been used as an educational and prevention resource within campus and community spaces, supporting conversations around LGBTQ+ relationship safety, harm recognition, and community-based responses to violence. The project reflects my broader commitment to public-facing scholarship: translating research into accessible, care-centered tools that prioritize dignity, agency, and collective survival.

Behind the Zine: Process & Care

Lavender Lens was shaped as much by process as by content. The research phase unfolded slowly and intentionally, allowing space for complexity, nuance, and contradiction—especially where existing frameworks fail queer and trans survivors. My role centered on transforming dense research into visual language that could be held gently: breaking information into digestible sections, balancing text with breathing room, and designing with emotional safety in mind.

Every design choice was made with the understanding that readers might encounter this material while navigating harm themselves. The goal was not just to inform, but to offer a sense of steadiness, affirmation, and permission to move at one’s own pace.

Public Scholarship & Impact

Lavender Lens functions as public scholarship and community education. It bridges academic research and lived experience, translating theory and data into tangible resources that circulate beyond classrooms and institutions. The zine, pamphlet, and wallet card have supported educational workshops, peer conversations, and prevention efforts—demonstrating how research can live, breathe, and care for people in real-world contexts.

Access & Community Use

This zine was created to support learning in community. If you are an educator, community advocate, nonprofit organization, or student group interested in physical copies for a class, workshop, or event, please reach out through the contact form. I’m always happy to work together to get copies into people’s hands free of charge whenever possible, prioritizing access and collective care.

CLICK HERE to access the zine and other materials.