NCJ Number
185758
Date Published
2000
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This article asserts that gays and lesbians are battered at about the same rate as heterosexual women but that few if any services are available to gay victims and abusers.
Abstract
The author indicates the problem of gay domestic violence is compounded when the gay community itself refuses to accept the seriousness of the problem. No shelters exist for gay men, although battered males in San Francisco, Boston, and a few other cities can obtain hotel vouchers from domestic violence agencies. Further, none of the 1,500 battered women's shelters in the United States are devoted to lesbians, although some have caseworkers who focus on lesbian clients. In addition, most crisis hotline operators expect traditional battered women situations. If few services are available to gay victims, even fewer services exist for gay batterers. Many male batterer groups exist but do not normally allow gay abusers to attend because the groups believe the presence of gay abusers creates a volatile situation among men already prone to violence. Although research indicates domestic violence occurs in 25 to 33 percent of all same sex relationships, progress in recognizing the extent of the problem has been slow and more community education is needed to address the problem.