Understanding Intimate Partner Violence among LGBTQ+ Individuals through a Minority Stress Lens: Implications for Queer Criminology

• In Event: Emergent Research in Queer Criminology

Abstract

Although intimate partner violence (IPV) has historically been studied from a heteronormative lens, there is a growing body of research documenting that IPV is a prevalent issue among LGBTQ+ populations. In fact, since 1999, approximately 100 studies have been published specifically on IPV among LGBTQ+ individuals (see Edwards et al., 2014 for a review). These studies most commonly use a minority stress framework to examine the rates of and risk factors for IPV victimization and perpetration, as well as disclosure, leaving, and recovering processes among LGBTQ+ victims. This roundtable contribution will provide a brief overview and critical analysis of the extant research on IPV among LGBTQ+ populations, including recent findings from the presenter’s mixed methodological research on IPV among LGBTQ+ youth. These findings underscore the role of externalized and internalized minority stressors related to sexual orientation and other intersecting marginalized identities on LGBTQ+ youth’s experiences with IPV. The presenter will also speak about avenues for future scholarship and the importance of integrating queer and feminist perspectives into criminological studies of IPV. To conclude, implications of existing research and theory for IPV prevention and intervention efforts specific to LGBTQ+ populations will also be discussed.

Author

• Katie M. Edwards, University of New Hampshire