Experiences of Sexual Violence across Sexual Orientations

Presentation given at the American Society of Criminology Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

While extensive research has been completed on the subject of intimate partner violence (IPV) experienced by heterosexual sample, only a few have focused directly on LGBT samples. Some of these studies have indicated that LGBT populations may be at higher risk for victimization. However, these studies are flawed in that they combine experiences of homosexuals with those of bisexuals and in some cases conflate gender identity with sexual orientation. Finally, these studies have completely ignored individuals who identify as asexual, that is those who do not experience sexual attraction. Utilizing data from the 2015 Asexuality Visibility Education Network Census, this exploratory study will compare experiences of IPV across heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and asexual samples.