Major Scientific Study Examines Domestic Violence Among Gay Men

NARTH ^ | 18 February 2003 | Roy Waller

[Remedy]

The American Journal of Public Health has published a detailed study of battering victimization in the male homosexual community (December 2002, Vol. 92, No. 12). The probability-based sampling of "men who have sex with men" (MSM) focused on four geographical areas (San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York) and resulted in 2,881 completed telephone interviews.

Based on these responses, this first-of-its-kind study determined that the rate of battering victimization among gay men in the target group (men over 18 who had engaged in homosexual activity since age 14, or who identified as gay, homosexual, or bisexual) is "substantially higher than among heterosexual men" and also possibly higher than the rate for heterosexual women, according to the study.

The researchers report a high rate of battering within the context of intimate homosexual partnerships, with 39% of those studied reporting at least one type of battering by a partner over the last five years.

In contrast, only about 7.7% of heterosexual men of all ages report physical or sexual partner abuse during their entire lifetimes. (Lifetime rates of abuse are generally higher than those within a five-year period.)

Figures were also compared with studies on heterosexual women who had been victims of violence within marriage or while cohabiting with men, also within five-year periods. Victimization for homosexual men (22%) was also substantially higher than for heterosexual women (11.6%).

The study, conducted by researchers with the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (University of California, San Francisco), Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, D.C.) and Prevention Research Center, School of Social Work (University of Washington, Seattle), examines three specific types of gay male-to-gay male assault: psychological/symbolic battering (verbal threats, ridicule in front of others, forced substance abuse, destruction of property, stalking), physical battery, and sexual battery (forced sexual activity).

Demographic information collected included each respondent's age, educational level, race/ethnicity, employment status, income, sexual self-description (gay, homosexual, bisexual, etc.), HIV status, and city of residence.

The research interviews covered the most recent five years of the respondents' lives, revealing that, within that time frame, 34% of the urban males interviewed had been victims of psychological/symbolic abuse, 22% had been physically victimized, and 5.1% had experienced sexual abuse. Overall, 39.2% reported one or other type of battering, of which 18.2% reported being victimized by more than one type of battering over the five-year period.

In terms of personal statistics concerning the victims, it was found that homosexual males age 40 or younger were much more likely to be the victim of abuse by a same-sex partner than those age 60 or over. Those with graduate and professional degrees were also less likely to be the target of such violence than men with a college degree or lower.

Men infected with the AIDS virus were more at risk for psychological and physical abuse than their HIV-negative peers. HIV-infected men were also more likely to be victimized in a sexual manner.

According to the study, none of the battering outcomes appeared associated with racial or ethnic identity, income level, self-described sexual orientation, or the city of residence.

The study states that the most significant factor in male same-sex partner violence is age: a 3.8% rate for 18-29 year olds, 3.9% among those between the ages of 30 and 39, and 2.7% in the 40-49-age bracket. Men under the age of 40 were found to be six times more likely to report abuse than those 60 or older, with subjects between 40 and 50 being four times as likely.

The conclusion arrived at by the researchers, based upon these figures, is that the rate of abuse between urban homosexual men in intimate relationships "is a very serious public health problem."

[Remedy]

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• Compared with their heterosexual peers, homosexual men were at greater risk for psychiatric disorders, including mood and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorders, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic disorder, agoraphobia, social phobia, and simple phobia. ---Theo G. M. Sandfort, Archives of General Psychiatry Vol. 58, Number . , 2001. Page(s) 85-91.

• Relationship violence was found to be a significant problem for homosexuals. Forty-four (44) percent of the gay men reported having experienced violence in their relationships; 13 percent reported sexual violence and 83 percent reported emotional abuse. Levels of abuse ran even higher among lesbians: 55 percent reported physical violence in their relationships, 14 percent reported sexual abuse, and 84 percent reported emotional abuse. Susan C. Turrell,Journal of Family Violence Vol. 13, Number . , 2000. Page(s) 281-293.

 

[Migraine]

In other words, it’s about the same rate as that experienced in heterosexual relationships. Whoop-de-whoo. This is news?

Au contraire, mon frere:

Victimization for homosexual men (22%) was also substantially higher than for heterosexual women (11.6%).

I think this statement from the article is saying that the victim rate among homos is exactly 100% greater than that among heteros.

[keithtoo]

Yup. I've known a few gay 'couples' where one was physically abused by the other (not counting the abuse of gay sex to begin with). This is unmentionable because gay sex is supposed to be 'all about love'. Which is a bunch of Barbra Streisand.

Men are men, and when men are men/women it is a potent combination. When you combine male physical strentgh and testosterone with female vindictiveness......watch out.

[AppyPappy]

It's hard to argue with statistics so always blame the messenger.

Take two men, add passion and a fight is on the way.

[AppyPappy]

Please refute the statistics rather than attacking the messenger.

I'm not arguing that... but take one man and one woman, add passion, and the result will be the same

Except that they aren't both loaded with male hormones.

[AppyPappy]

. Overall, 39.2% reported one or other type of battering, of which 18.2% reported being victimized by more than one type of battering over the five-year period.

How do you explain that this is so much higher than abuse of men in hetero relationships?

[AppyPappy]

Exactly. And what's the difference between a hetero couple and a gay couple? (hint: it involves math)

[AppyPappy]

Nope. In a homosexual relationsjip, there are TWO men therefore double the instances of abuse. If 39% of men report domestic abuse and there are double the number of men in the relationship, that means the amount of abuse is higher.

[AppyPappy]

The number of reported incidents of domestic violence among couples in 1999 rose 23 percent from 1998 figures, according to the fourth annual report on LGBT domestic violence by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP), a network of US advocacy groups.

The NCAVP documented 3,120 incidents of LGBT domestic violence last year, based on statistics from San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, Boston, Los Angeles, Colorado, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio.

"While significant for what it reveals about the broader incidence of domestic violence in the LGTB community, the rise in reported case numbers should not be interpreted to reflect an absolute increase in the incidence of such violence overall," according to the study. Enhancements in staffing, program capacity and improved outreach efforts may have contributed to the higher numbers, the study said.

Incidents were tallied based on calls NCAVP affiliate organizations received from people looking for services or support, explained Emily Pitt, MSW, domestic violence advocate at Boston’s Fenway Community Health, an NCAVP affiliate. The report did not examine police surveillance data because, said Pitt, "people in our community are less likely to think of the police as something that’s helpful, and are more likely to report domestic violence to someone who’s LGBT-sensitive."

The report found that incidents of domestic violence are roughly split between gay men and women. Race was divided less equally: 45 percent of the abused were Caucasian, 17 percent were Latin, 11 percent were African-American and 4 percent were Asian/ Pacific Island. Forty-four percent of the abused were between the ages of 30 to 44, 21 percent were 23 to 29, 12 percent were 45 to 64, 4 percent were 18 to 22 and 1 percent were under 18 or over 65.

The accuracy of the report may be difficult to gauge, however, because LGBT domestic violence often goes unreported. "We believe the actual number of cases is much higher than is reflected in this report," said Pitt. This may be especially true of transgenders, who made up only around three percent of report's total incidents. "The extraordinary low rates of reporting among transgender-identified victims may be attributable to the perceived or actual lack of appropriate resources to serve them," the study said.

There are a variety of reasons LGBT people may be reluctant to report domestic violence, said Pitt. These include "fear of being outed, fear of the police or the courts, lack of services… and/ or lack of understanding that domestic violence is not just about abuse between a man and a woman, but can include same- relationships," she added.

From GayHealth.com

[AppyPappy]

Another: ...For the first time, a report by the Justice Department on domestic violence includes cases in which both the victim and attacker were members of the same sex. According to the report, between 1993 and 1999 there was a yearly average of 142,290 male victims of intimate partner violence -- of that, 13,740 or 10% stemmed from intimate-partner violence between men. The report showed 902,240 female victims of domestic violence on average per year, with 2% or 16,900 involving intimate violence between women. The report was compiled by Bureau of Justice Statistics and used estimates from the National Crime Victimization Survey. This is the first year that the survey has included information on intimate-partner violence victims of the same sex.

Note that only 3% of the population is homosexual.