Sexual assault of LGBT persons
Minority stress posits that prejudice and discrimination against SGM populations cause and maintain health disparities.
[5] A systemic review stated that in 2011, 61% of SGM reported being turned away by domestic violence (DV) shelters.
[7] Although in 2013 the Violence Against Women Act explicitly barred discrimination on basis of race, gender, sexual orientation, and disability, no follow up research has been done to assess the compliance of DV shelters.
[5] Additionally, older research on DV shelters have demonstrated a lack of competence and attunement to servicing SGM survivors, which often perpetuated harm towards these communities.
[7][9][12] For example, African American women experience high rates of sexual assault, often relating to the historic stigmatization and fetishization of African American women sexuality, however, research shows they are less likely to disclose survivorship and seek out support due to stigma.
[12] According to a 2010 findings[2] on The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC concluded that: In regard to lifetime sexual assault victimization, the estimated prevalence for lesbian and bisexual women was approximately 12.6 - 85%.
The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, also known as RAINN found that 21% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted.
Aside from systemic influence, minority stress also manifests in the form of stigma, stereotypes, and discrimination that shape the nature of sexual violence.
[6] Common stereotypes assume that sexual violence is only experienced in heterosexual dynamics and that all same-sex relationships are egalitarian.
[4][19] Discrimination towards SGM may lead some individuals to conceal their sexual and gender orientation from those in their circle (i.e., family, friends, co-workers, etc.).
According to scholars Adam M. Messinger, Xavier L. Guadalupe-Diaz, sexual assault and intimate partner violence (IPV) against transgender people is distinct because of two societal norms: cisnormativity and transphobia.
They argue that cisnormativity and transphobia put transgender people in a more vulnerable position that leads to more assault and IPV.
SGM survivors more frequently disclose their SA experience to informal sources (i.e., family, friends, peers, partners, etc.)
[10][12][14] Social responses to disclosure can potentially buffer or exacerbate (i.e., retraumatization) negative outcomes following sexual assault.
[10][12] Among SGM survivors, negative social response to self-disclosure of sexual assault relates to increased risk for PTSD and higher levels of distress.
[12] Research shows that SGM survivors are met with mixed social responses to their sexual assault disclosure.
