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Resources and Information for LGBT Survivors


Sexual assault and intimate partner violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, class, age, appearance, gender identity or sexual orientation. Lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender people are subject to the same spectrum of sexual violence as the general population. In general, sexual assault against LGBT people is very similar to assaults that heterosexuals experience. According to research, LGB people are at approximately the same risk as heterosexuals of being sexually assaulted by someone they know.

52% of participants in a study of sexual coercion in gay/lesbian relationships reported at least one incident of sexual assault/coercion.

In one study, gay men reported 1.6 incidents per person on average, in comparisons the 1.2 incidents per person reported by lesbians.

A 2007 study in the Chicago area found that 32% of men who have sex with men had been victims of intimate partner violence. Of those men, 57 % reported sexual abuse.

Though accurate statistics about sexual violence against transgender and intersex people are not available, research indicates that they may experience higher rates of sexual assault by strangers and intimate partners than other individuals.

The first National Survey of Transgender Violence conducted in 1997 by GenderPAC found that 13.7% of 402 persons reported being the victim of rape or attempted rape.
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