LGBTQIA+ members are individuals who are considered "an embarrassment" in our modern society. They are treated unequally and are violated in many ways, due to the fact that they are different from normal individuals. They face discrimination, inequality, harassment, and violence in their lives. Due to this, the government have implemented protocols and systems that can help these individuals in living the life being free. Nonetheless, despite of having these improvements, LGBTQIA+ people continue to experience pervasive and blatant gender bias in all spheres of public and private life, including housing, employment, academic opportunities, the ability to purchase goods and services, and the chances to meaningfully participate in a society's decision-making processes.
Domestic Violence
While domestic abuse affects people of every color, gender, position, social status, and age, it disproportionately impacts LGBTQIA+ individuals. The reason is that they frequently lack access to comfort place, like shelters, or may be afraid to seek protection/ help from law authorities. Just like in any other relationships, in order to exert power and control, abusive partners in LGBTQIA+ relationships employ the same strategies that abusive couples use in heterosexual relationships. These strategies include isolation, financial control, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, and many more. Abusive partners in LGBTQ+ relationships also reinforce their tactics that maintain power and control with societal factors that compound the complexity a survivor faces in leaving or getting safe in an LGBTQ+ relationship.
Sexual Assault
Every community and demography is impacted by sexual assault, including the LGBTQIA+ community. Lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals encounter sexual violence at rates that are comparable to or greater than those of heterosexual individuals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Projects (NCAVP), over one in ten LGBTQIA+ Intimate Partner Violence survivors have been sexually assaulted by their partners. According to studies, over half of bisexual women and transgender persons will encounter sexual assault at some point in their lives.
However, as a community, we seldom discuss how sexual violence impacts us, or what needs our community has in terms of sexual assault prevention and the care and support of survivors.
The CDC's survey, Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, revealed the following for LGBTQIA+ people:
Compared to 35% heterosexual women, who encounter rape, physical abuse, or stalking by an intimate partner, lesbians and bisexual women experience these crimes at a rate of 44% and 61%, respectively.
Compared to 29% of straight men, who experience rape, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner, gay men and bisexual men experience these crimes at a rate of 26% and 37%, respectively.
46% of bisexual women have experienced rape, compared to 17% straight women and 13% lesbians.
Compared to 9% of straight women, 22% of bisexual women report having been raped by a close friend or lover.
Compared to 21% of straight males, 40% of homosexual men and 47% of bisexual men had suffered sexual violence other than rape.
The highest rates of sexual assault are experienced by transgender persons and bisexual women within the LGBTQIA+ community. Both of these populations are prone to early sexual assault, frequently in childhood.
A transgender survey from the U.S. concluded that 47% of transgender persons experience sexual assault at some point in their lives.
American Indian (65%), mixed (59%), Middle Eastern (58%) and Black (53%) survey respondents were most likely to experience sexual assault throughout their lives.
Nearly half (48%) of bisexual women who have survived rape say their first rape encounter occurred while they were between the ages of 11 and 17.
To stop the violence crisis affecting the LGBTQ community, we must all work together. Always remember to trust anyone who tells you that they've been sexually attacked, tell them it wasn't their fault, keep their disclosure private (unless the circumstances call for required reporting), and never ask them for more information than they want to provide.
References:
Violence Against LGBTQ People | CARE Office. (2021). https://care.ucmerced.edu/advocacy/
Sexual Assault and the LGBTQ Community. (2017). Human Rights Campaign. https://www .hrc.org/resources/sexual-assault-and-the-lgbt-community
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