Intimate Partner Violence: Special Issues in LGBT Populations

Despite perceptions that intimate partner violence exclusively involves male perpetrators abusing female victims, the problem occurs in all types of relationships including LGBT relationships. Although prevalence rates for intimate partner violence in LGBT relationships (sometimes called "same-sex domestic violence") vary because of methodological issues related to study recruitment and definitions of sexual orientation, the rates are currently considered to be similar to or slightly higher than opposite-sex prevalence rates.

Survivors of intimate violence in LGBT relationships face additional challenges including fear of discrimination,...