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1 Center for American Progress | LGBT Domestic Violence Fact Sheet
LGBT
1
 Domestic Violence Fact Sheet
 1 Disclaimer: This fact sheet focuses on domestic violence among gay and lesbian couples, but many issues overlap for bisexual and trans-gender survivors of domestic violence as well.
Introduction
Law enorcemen, governmen agencies, and he general populaion acknowledge ha domesic violence is a serious public healh problem. Te mos commonly undersood ype o abuse involves parners o he opposie gender engaging in behavior ha is boh physically and menally harmul, wih he vicim ypically being he emale. Less univer-sally recognized is he occurrence o domesic violence among parners o he same sex. Research indicaes ha domesic violence among same-sex couples occurs a similar raes as domesic violence among sraigh couples. Unorunaely, domesic violence  vicims in same-sex relaionships are no receiving he help hey need. Tis is due o he lack o legal recogniion o same-sex relaionships, law enorcemen’s ailure o ideniy and properly handle domesic violence cases involving people o he same sex, and he shorage o resources available o vicims o same-sex parner domesic abuse. Lawmakers and social service providers should reconfigure he radiional model o domesic violence prevenion and reamen o include individuals involved in same-sex relaionships.
Rate of domestic violence in same-sex couples
Te majoriy o gay and lesbian amilies are happy, healhy, and well-uncioning, similar o ha o healhy heerosexual amilies. Domesic violence in same-sex amilies does occur, however. Sudies have ound ha domesic violence occurs among same-sex couples a comparable raes o sraigh couples:
One ou o our o one ou o hree same-sex relaionships has experienced domesic violence.
By comparison, one in every our heerosexual women experiences domesic violence in her lieime.
 
2 Center for American Progress | LGBT Domestic Violence Fact Sheet
Comparing domestic violence in straight and same-sex couples
Boh sraigh and gay vicims o domesic violence experience a similar patern o abuse, albei wih some noable disincions. Sraigh and same-sex domesic violence share many common characerisics:
Te patern o abuse includes a vicious cycle o physical, emoional, and psychological misreamen, leaving he vicim wih eelings o isolaion, ear, and guil.
 Abusers ofen have severe menal illnesses and were hemselves abused as children.
Psychological abuse is he mos common orm o abuse and physical baterers ofen  blackmail heir parners ino silence.
Physical and sexual abuses ofen co-occur.
No race, ehniciy, or socio-economic saus is exemp.Bu domesic violence in same-sex relaionships is disincive in many ways rom domesic violence in heerosexual relaionships:
Gay or lesbian baterers will hreaen “ouing” heir vicims o work colleagues, amily, and riends. Tis hrea is amplified by he sense o exreme isolaion among gay and lesbian vicims since some are sill closeed rom riends and amily, have ewer civil righs proecions, and lack access o he legal sysem.
Lesbian and gay vicims are more relucan o repor abuse o legal auhoriies. Survivors may no conac law enorcemen agencies because doing so would orce hem o reveal heir sexual orienaion or gender ideniy.
Gay and lesbian vicims are also relucan o seek help ou o ear o showing a lack o solidariy among he gay and lesbian communiy. Similarly, many gay men and women hide heir abuse ou o a heighened ear ha sociey will perceive same-sex relaion-ships as inherenly dysuncional.
Gay and lesbian vicims are more likely o figh back han are heerosexual women. Tis can lead law enorcemen o conclude ha he fighing was muual, overlooking he larger conex o domesic violence and he hisory o power and conrol in he relaionship.
 Abusers can hreaen o ake away he children rom he vicim. In some saes, adop-ion laws do no allow same-sex parens o adop each oher’s children. Tis can leave he vicim wih no legal righs should he couple separae. Te abuser can easily use he children as leverage o preven he vicim rom leaving or seeking help. Even when he vicim is he legally recognized paren an abuser may hreaen o ou he vicim o social workers hosile o gays and lesbians, which may resul in a loss o cusody. In he  wors cases he children can even end up in he cusody o he abuser.
 
3 Center for American Progress | LGBT Domestic Violence Fact Sheet
Challenges to addressing same-sex domestic violence
Te generally acceped model o a male aggressor and emale survivor canno be easily applied when dealing wih vicims in same-sex relaionships. Same-sex couples here-ore ace cerain impedimens o having heir domesic violence issues recognized and addressed ha sraigh couples do no:
Authorities often lack the knowledge of how to handle domestic violence cases involving people of the same gender.
 An officer may misake wo males living ogeher or roommaes, or example. And officers may ail o repor an inciden o domesic violence since he wo paries involved may be unwilling o divulge heir relaionship saus. In some cases he vicim will be deained insead o he aggressor  because he later was physically smaller.
Same-sex partners lack the resources needed to help them get out of abusive relationships.
 While domesic violence shelers appear o be increasingly responsive o he needs o lesbian vicims, gay male vicims are rarely admited. Services or gay men are pracically nonexisen.
Survivors of same-sex domestic violence lack the same legal recognition and protec-tion as straight survivors.
Currenly, a pachwork o sae laws exis ha offer some proecions o gay and lesbian vicims o domesic violence. Some laws cover gay and lesbian vicims explicily in heir ani-domesic violence laws, while ohers cover gay and lesbian vicims hough gender-neural language. A ederal law is needed, however, o provide uniorm and comprehensive proecions or all same-sex couples.
Policy solutions for addressing same-sex domestic violence
 A number o policy soluions would address he challenges ha boh vicims and survi- vors o same-sex domesic violence ace. Tey include:
New legal inerpreaion o exising domesic violence laws a all levels o governmen ha incorporaes same-sex couples wihin he definiions o domesic violence and relaed paries.
Providing local, sae, and ederal unding o educae law enorcemen and social service providers abou LGB people, esablish same-sex domesic violence prevenion pro-grams, and suppor organizaions ha specifically address same-sex domesic violence.
Mandaed culural compeency raining or organizaions receiving ederal dollars o implemen domesic violence prevenion or reamen programs.

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