http://www.nclrights.org/sexual-assault-in-the-lgbt-community/
Did you know that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month? Since we are looking at violence in the LGBT community this week, I thought it would be appropriate to make a post about what is happening in the LGBT community concerning sexual assault.
Sexual violence in the LGBT community is often made invisible or dismissed, despite the fact that the CDC has published statistics that show that the sexual assault rate for the LGBT community is comparable or higher than the sexual assault rate for “straight” individuals and couples.
The numbers are very high! A conservative estimate states that 1 in 8 lesbian women and approximately 50% of bisexual women are raped in their lifetime. Almost half of bisexual men and 4 in 10 gay men have experienced some type of sexual violence in their lives other than rape, and transgender individuals are victimized the most… 64% have experienced sexual assault at some point in their lives.
According to this article, adding to the problem is that the medical community and other service providers lack the “cultural competency” needed to serve the LGBT community – despite the recently extended LGBT nondiscrimination protections in resources for domestic and sexual violence which were made possible by the Violence Against Women Act of 2013 (VAWA) .
Moreover, this article relates that until very recently, intra-community sexual assault went largely unacknowledged, particularly for lesbians. Part of the problem is that society still insists that all victims of assault are responsible for their own victimization. When sexual assault occurs, the LGBT community must deal with additional issues as well: Denial, misrecognition, and homopobic responses are common. Because the LGBT community is usually small and tight-knit, victims may not know how where to turn, either because they are afraid they won’t be believed or supported, or because they are afraid that by speaking out against other members of this community, it will reinforce negative stereotypes. Also, in order to make the report, persons must “come out” publicly and face social stigma and oftentimes, incompetancy from the medical and social service professions.
Take some time to read this article and other valuable information from the National Center for Lesbian Rights website. It is well worth the effort.
Katie