Sexual Victimization among LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ College Students: Victimization Risk, Context, and Disclosure

• In Event: Sexual Victimization Among Vulnerable/Understudied College Populations: Focus on LGBTQ, Male, and Repeat Victims

Abstract

A growing body of research has documented that sexual minorities (individuals who report same-sex attraction, same-sex sexual behavior, or a nonheterosexual identity) are at increased risk for sexual victimization. The CCSVS found significantly higher rates of sexual assault during the 2014-2015 academic year for women who self-reported as lesbian, gay, or bisexual than for women who self-reported as straight—a pattern that was found at each of the participating schools. This paper builds on those analyses by examining other forms of sexual violence and misconduct, including sexual harassment, coerced sexual contact, and intimate partner violence among LBGTQ students included in the female sample, which includes both sexual and gender minorities (individuals who do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth and may identify as transgender, gender nonconforming, or something else). Victimization rates are compared between LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ students, with a focus on determining whether any differences in victimization risk are found consistently across schools. In addition, key contextual characteristics of sexual assault incidents are compared for the two groups, including the victim-offender relationship and tactics used to perpetrate the assault. Finally, differences in disclosure to formal and informal sources, and reasons for nondisclosure, are explored.

Authors

• Christopher Krebs, RTI International

• Christine Lindquist, RTI International

• Michael Planty, RTI International

• Lynn Langton, Bureau of Justice Statistics

• Marcus Berzofsky, RTI International