INTIMATE PARTNER ABUSE - Prevalence of Intimate Partner Abuse amongst Gay and Bisexual Men
What is the prevalence of partner abuse among men who have intimate relationships with men? We don’t know for certain at this time. There have been very few studies done on this issue and all these studies have limitations. Amongst the limitations is the fact that there is very little data on bisexual men and no data on transgender individuals.
The best study done to date is by Greenwood and his associates (2002). (See the Reading List – GBT Intimate Partner Abuse) They interviewed 2,881 men who have sex with men (MSM) living in four urban areas (San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Chicago). They found that MSM in the study reported the following rates of abuse:
§ Psychological/symbolic battering 34%
§ Physical battering 22%
§ Sexual battering 5%
Greenwood and his associates acknowledge that their study has limitations. The men, for example, were urban and comparatively more economically advantaged. Thus, the study does not assess the rate of abuse amongst suburban and rural MSM, as well as less economically advantaged MSM.
There are seven other studies with gay or gay and bisexual men that have found rates of physical abuse ranging from 26% to 47%. (Bologna et al, 1987; Gardner, 1988; Harms, 1995; Kelly and Washafsky, 1987; Tjaden et al, Walder-Haugrud et al, 1997; Wood, 1987. See Reading List – GBT Intimate Partner Abuse)
These studies are exploratory, tend to use small samples (4 studies had fewer than 50 subjects) and tend not to use random sampling techniques. None of them can be used to estimate the general rate of physical abuse amongst men who have intimate relationships with men. Nonetheless, they are valuable studies because they form the basis for future research.
One of the challenges for conducting partner abuse research is the definition of abuse. Most of the studies have asked if the participants had experienced one or more incidents of physical abuse. One incident of an abusive behavior, or even a few, does not conform to our definition of intimate partner abuse. These studies, therefore, may suggest the rate of intimate partner abuse, but they are not measuring what we define as partner abuse.
More research is needed to establish the prevalence of intimate partner abuse amongst men who have intimate relationships with men. Research is needed on the full range of abusive behaviors, including physical, sexual, financial, identity and emotional abuse. Research also is needed to determine the scope of the problem, the dynamics of abuse, prevention strategies, and the extent and types of services needed by survivors and others affected by the abuse.