LGBTQ+ People and Sexual Assault: Where Are We Now and Where Do We Have Left to Go?

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

Research has concluded that 1 and 3 women and 1 and 6 men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime. These statistics exhibit how widespread the issue of sexual violence is and how many people are affected by these traumatic experiences. While research has been extensive on this topic, until recently, majority of studies neglected to examine this issue in LGBTQ+ identifying individuals. This is problematic because the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (2010) has revealed that prevalence of sexual violence differs based on sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation, which has been found by several other researchers. While it is necessary and helpful to examine prevalence of this issue in this population, prevalence studies fail to provide contextual questions to understand this issue more complexly. For instance, for bisexual respondents, the survey doesn’t ask the sex of the partner that perpetrated the sexual abuse. So, the purpose of this paper seeks to address and critically assess some of the shortcomings of current research on sexual assault victimization of LBGTQ+ identifying people by providing an extensive critical review of the literature and suggestions for moving forward in this area.

Author

• Alayna M Kimble, West Virginia University