Study: Sexual minorities more often exposed to violence

By Ruth Schneider, 365gay.com
04.21.2010 9:05am EDT

Sexual minorities – gay men, lesbians, bisexuals and heterosexuals who have had a same-sex partner – are more likely to have experienced violent events, in particular in childhood, and more likely to have post-traumatic stress disorder, a new Harvard study revealed.

The research appears in the April 15 issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

According to the study, 45 percent of sexual minority women and 28 percent of sexual minority men experience violence in childhood. In comparison, 21 percent of women and 20 percent of men who don’t identify as sexual minorities experience abuse or violence as children. The researchers tied the higher rates of violence to the higher rates of PTSD.

The findings suggest there is an urgent need for prevention of violence against sexual minorities.

“Our study documents that profound sexual orientation disparities exist in exposure to violence and other traumatic events beginning in childhood,” study author Karestan Koenen told Science Daily. “Something about our society puts individuals with minority sexual orientations at high risk for victimization. This is a major public health problem that needs to be addressed.”