Prevalence of Relationship/Dating Violence in LGBTQI Relationships

It has been difficult to determine the prevalence of this form of abuse. The issue of lgbtqi partner violence has been difficult to research because of the larger homophobic, biphobic, transphobic, and heterosexist context. Most LGBTQI violence is not reported to the police or to mainstream crisis organizations. Lesbians, gay men, bisexual, transgender and queer people may be reluctant to report abuse because they do not want to be seen as betraying the LGBTQI community and/or they may be concerned with homophobic and/or transphobic responses. Thus statistics from official sources are likely to indicate very minimal levels of violence. Many large-scale studies on relationship violence have not included gays and lesbians or even considered the experiences of transgender, intersex, bisexual and/or queer people.  Despite the gaps in our knowledge, many researchers and service providers have concluded that violence in LGBTQI relationships occurs at the same rate as or in even higher rates than heterosexual violence. Further, advocates suggest that members of the transgender community may stay in relationships with an abusive partner longer than those identifiying as heterosexual, gay, lesbian or bisexual. See the Violence in transgender relationships for more information.