Intimate Partner Violence

"LGBTQ+ women, trans people and non-binary people are equally as likely, if not more so, than their cisgender and heterosexual peers to have experienced IPV at some point in their lifetimes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 2010 National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS), LGB women are significantly more likely than straight women to have ever experienced IPV in their lifetime, reported by 61% of bisexual women, and 44% of lesbian women, compared with 35% of straight women.Among men, a third of bisexual men (37.3%), versus a little over a quarter (29%) of heterosexual men, had experienced IPV in their lifetime; gay men were slightly less likely than heterosexual men to experience this (reported by 26%). Transgender people experience IPV at rates even higher than their cisgender peers; an analysis of the 2015 United States Transgender Survey found that more than half (54%) of all trans and non-binary people have experienced IPV at some point in their lifetimes.For many LGBTQ+ people, IPV often begins in youth or young adulthood. One in five (19%) lesbian, gay and bisexual high school-aged students say they have been forced to have sex, compared with 6% of straight students. Another study found that nearly one in four (24%) transgender high school-aged students say they have been forced to have sex, as well as 15% of their cisgender peers. In addition, lesbian, gay and bisexual high school-aged students report elevated rates of physical (13%) and sexual (16%) dating violence, compared to the rates of physical (7%) and sexual (7%) dating violence reported by their straight peers. Transgender students also report high levels of physical (26%) and sexual (23%) dating violence, compared to the rates of physical (15%) and sexual (16%) dating violence reported by their cisgender peers." Human Rights Campaign.