Sexual assault of LGBT persons

Sexual assault of LGBT people is a form of violence that occurs within the LGBT community. While sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence can occur in all forms of relationships, it is found that sexual minorities experience it at rates that are equal to or higher than their heterosexual counterparts.[2] There is a lack of research on this specific problem for the LGBT population as a whole, but there does exist a substantial amount of research on college LGBT students who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Sexual assault awareness is represented by the color teal.[1]

Definition

There are varying definitions as to what sexual assault is defined as. According to the United States Department of Justice:[3]

The term "sexual assault" means any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent.

Definitions and laws of sexual assault vary from state to state. The website FindLaw allows users to click on their corresponding to state to read about how their state defines what sexual assault is, as well as what laws and limitations exist. Sexual assault of LGBT individuals refers to the act of sexual violence against persons who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender amongst other sexualities and sexual minorities.

Statistics

The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, also known as RAINN, puts out general statistics[4] on sexual assault in the USA, including:

  • Every 98 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted.
  • 21% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted.

According to a 2010 findings[5] on The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC concluded that:

  • For American lesbian women (118 lesbian women completed the survey):[6]
    • 44% experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
    • Approximately 1 in 8 (13%) have been raped in their lifetime.
  • For American gay men (148 gay men completed the survey):[6]
    • 26% experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
    • 4 in 10 (40%) have experienced sexual violence other than rape in their lifetime.
  • For American bisexual women (199 bisexual women completed the survey):[6]
    • 61% experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime.
    • 1 in 5 (22%) have been raped by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
    • 46% have been raped in their lifetime.
  • For American bisexual men (96 bisexual men completed the survey):[6]
    • 37% experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.
    • 47% have experienced sexual violence other than rape in their lifetime.

In a paper by Emily Rothman, Deinera Exner, and Allyson Baughman, it was found that, in regard to lifetime sexual assault victimization, the estimated prevalence for lesbian and bisexual women was approximately 12.6 - 85%. For gay and bisexual men, it was 11.8-54.0%. Their paper used data from 75 different studies on lifetime sexual assault victimization in the United States.[7]

Underlying issues, myths, and misconceptions

The underlying issues of sexual assault against LGBT persons includes homophobia and transphobia among other forms of prejudice against sexual minorities.[8]

References
  1. "Sexual Assault Awareness". SupportStore.com. Retrieved 2018-04-29.
  2. "NISVS: An Overview of 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation" (PDF).
  3. "Sexual Assault | OVW | Department of Justice". www.justice.gov. 2014-07-23. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  4. "Victims of Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN". www.rainn.org. Retrieved 2018-04-30.
  5. "NISVS: An Overview of 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control.
  6. Breiding, M.J.; Chen, J.; Walters, M.L. (2013). "The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation" (PDF). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Division of Violence Prevention. p. 6.
  7. Rothman, Emily F.; Exner, Deinera; Baughman, Allyson (April 2011). "The prevalence of sexual assault against people who identify as Gay, Lesbian or Bisexual in the United States: A systematic review". Trauma, Violence & Abuse. 12 (2): 55–66. doi:10.1177/1524838010390707. PMC 3118668. PMID 21247983.
  8. "LGBTQ | Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR)". www.pcar.org. Retrieved 2018-04-30.

Further reading
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