The Occurrence of Domestic Violence in the Gay and Lesbian Communities

Intimate partner violence (IPV) in same-sex relationships is similar and nearly identical to IPV in heterosexual relationships, however, IPV in the LGBT community has a few unique issues. Victims of IPV in the LGBT community have to face many people in society that are homophobic. Though society has become a lot more open in accepting the LGBT community, victims still face negative attitudes from the community making it difficult for them to report the violence. If victims have not come out and announced their same-sex relationships, it makes it difficult for researchers to learn about the IPV among LGBT relationships. They also may not report the violence because if it is exposed it may reveal that they are part of the LGBT community and they

And the answer to this would be; anyone can become a victim of domestic violence. Although most would assume that only women could be affected by this heinous crime, this is not the case. Granted, in a 2001 U.S. study, “85 percent of the victims were female with a male batterer” (U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics), but the other 15% did not fit into this category. This 15% represents the males with female batterers, as well as those victims in lesbian and gay relationships. It is not as common, but uncommon is not synonymous with nonexistent. Again, it can happen to anyone.

This, however, changed with the creation of one of the first domestic violence organizations: the Battered Women’s movement (“History”). With the creation of the Battered Women’s Movement came an upward push for more domestic violence reforms. In 1984 one of the first acts passed by congress was the Family Violence Prevention Services Act, which allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to fund states in all things domestic violence. This includes “the establishment, maintenance, and expansion of programs and projects to prevent incidents of family violence and provide shelter and related assistance for victims and their dependents” (“History”). This act has shaped what we see in domestic violence reforms today, and has spurred the creation of other programs to help those whose lives have been affected.

Domestic violence became a realization and a serious concern in the mid 1970’s for many Americans. “This realization is due to the women advocating on behalf of the battered women movement”

Domestic violence can happen to anyone of any age and gender starting from babies and ending to elderlies in homes they are sent to live in. Regardless of one’s sexual orientation and race domestic violence can occur to anyone who are in relationships. Domestic violence not only affects those who are the victims but also to the people who are close to them such as neighbors, children, family members, co- workers, and people who have an insight on the situation. It is important for the victim to address the problem with someone who can help. Although the abuser can promise to change and get better, the victim must remove himself or herself from the situation to reduce risks of long-term affects.

Also, in LGBTQ relationships which involve children, the abuser may use the children to hurt their partner and that is not in the best interest of the children involved. There needs to be an end to all abuse against all individuals who experience any form of intimate partner violence. There is a necessity for available resources to service the LGBTQ community to prevent intimate partner violence. Therefore, the demands for shelters are crucial to aid the victim to escape to safely. Also, social workers within LGBTQ communities should address this particular problem with anyone who needs assistance to leave an abuser with confidentiality and confidence that they will be safe. People may be judgmental to blame the victim; however, the victim’s life is valuable. In fact, in heterosexual relationships, some people seem to blame the victim along with revictimizing the victim, and this is one problem that reaches out and across domestic violence and intimate violence cases. Perpetrators victim blaming and deflecting blame towards the people who have been hurt by the abuser needs to be reevaluated through the creation of new policies regardless of an individual being LGBTQ or heterosexual,

There is no exceptions to whom experiences domestic violence. It can be between family and household members, friends, spouses or partners (including former dating relations) and complete strangers. In The Department of Justice Website, state that victims are subjected to “physical, sexual, emotional, economic, and psychological abuse or coercion”. Which includes behaviors that “intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, blame injure or wound” the victim is then forced to stay in their predicament. This abuse can be sustained for a long amounts of time. And is some cases, a lifetime, if nothing is done to to end it. Regardless of race, gender, religions, age, religion, or sexual gender referral for relationships, domestic violence can happen to anyone. “On average, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the United States — more than 12 million women and men over the course of a year”, stated by The National Domestic Violence

The purpose of this piece is not to come to conclusions about how abuse in the LGBTQ community is worse or better than other groups’ experiences with domestic abuse. There is no conceivable logic in attempting to minimise certain groups’ experiences in order to maximise attention towards others; instead this piece will examine these specific issues on a deeper level.

Since women are viewed as physically weaker then men and gay males are considered sensitive and petty there are perceived as less dominant and therefor more vulnerable to domestic violence. This myth is unfortunately not true as gays and lesbians are just as susceptible to domestic violence as heterosexuals. (Elliott, 1996). The amount of violence within a domestic same-sex relationship that has been reported is about 20% to 45%. Studies disclose that the percentage of occurrence is higher in lesbian relationships rather the gay relationships because lesbian couples are typically more honest about violence. The reason being is that society is not as harsh on women beating women compared to men beating men (Zahm, 1999). The fact that homosexual domestic violence just as much a problem as heterosexual domestic violence shows that the issue is not rooted within the gender but within who has the power. (Elliot,

According to statistics found by the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Every nine seconds a woman is abused by her husband or intimate partner. At least 1 in every 4 women and 1 in every 9 men have been beaten, coerced into sex or otherwise abused in their lifetime. Most often the abuser is one of their own family. Domestic violence is a problem that somehow affects every one of us in this room at some time and is actually the leading cause of injury to women -- more than car accidents, muggings and rapes combined.

age, race, relationship status, and individual income), d) insight on how men can be affected by the violence and how it will follow them for the rest of the lives. Second, Law: Basis, Enforcement and Other public agencies; a) attitude of the police and courts towards male victims, b) influence of society preventing men in accepting and reporting abuse, c) assessing the legal frameworks, and

Domestic Violence is something that occurs in every type of relationship, but non-traditional cases (e.g. gay male, lesbian) are often overlooked. Domestic Violence affects over one million people every year in the United States (Rennison & Welchans, 2000) and it occurs in any close relationship. The research shows that between 25 and 33% of traditional (heterosexual) couple’s experience some form of Domestic Violence (Koss, 1990; Mahony). The prevalence of domestic violence in lesbian and gay male couples has been the more difficult information to access; however, experts estimate rates comparable to heterosexual couples (Seelau S.M., Seelau E.P. 2005).

In the past, intimate partner violence was only defined as abuse in a heterosexual relationship. Scholars and researchers did not take into account that abuse can happen in any relationship regardless if the relationship consist of two heterosexuals or homosexuals. Acknowledging domestic violence in gay and lesbian relationships is a new concept that has allowed researchers to understand the different dynamics that may occur in a homosexual relationship in comparison to a heterosexual one.

In the domestic violence research world, feminist assumptions-many contradicting better designed studies or more reliable crime data- have tremendous influence on how questions are framed, what questions are asked, who is surveyed, and how slanted data are then interpreted to support these pre-existing assumptions. Such studies are based on a circular logic that calls women victims and men batterers (James, 2003).

Domestic violence is not only about being aggressive in being in a relationship but it can also result with someone dying in getting beaten to death. When hearing the words domestic violence some people think that it only happens to women .But that's not true domestic violence can happen to men as well . “1of 7 is the number of men who will be victims of severe violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes” says Alanna Vagianos form the article “30 Shocking Domestic Violence Statistics that remind us it’s an Epidemic.There has been 18,000 of women who have been killed by men is a situation of domestic violence since the year 2003. Some women that go through this situation also get raped or assaulted during their relationship.Domestic violence can also occur in gay , bisexual ,& lesbian partners..Alanna says “Every minute 20 people are victims of intimate partner violence.”and also “A women is beaten every nine seconds in the US.” For domestic