Sexual assault awareness month: LGBTQ+ victims and survivors of sexual violence
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. The Crime Survey for England and Wales estimated that 1.1 million adults aged 16 years and over had experienced sexual assault in the year ending March 2022 (ONS 2023). Whilst anyone can be a victim of sexual assault, women are disproportionality effected: one in four women have been raped or sexually assaulted as an adult (Rape Crisis England & Wales 2024).
However, research indicates that lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ+) individuals experience similar rates of sexual assault compared to heterosexual, cisgender women (Langenderfer-Magruder 2016; Field and Rowlands 2020). In a recent survey of over 1,000 LGBTQ+ individuals, Galop - the UK’s LGBT anti-violence charity - reported that high proportions of respondents had experienced sexual harassment (88%) and sexual assault (77%) since the age of 18 (Galop 2023).
Despite this, LGBTQ+ victims and survivors of sexual assault are frequently omitted from public discourses surrounding sexual violence. This is, in large part, due to the prevailing ‘typical script’ of sexual violence. As defined by Mortimer et al (2019, p.340), the typical script for sexual violence “...assumes a heterosexual relationship and the dynamics of an ‘active’, aggressive man against a ‘passive’, victimised woman”. Whilst a gendered approach to sexual violence is necessary, - as evidenced by the high rates of sexual violence against women - an over-reliance on the typical script has meant that LGBTQ+ victims/survivors are largely silenced by public narratives addressing sexual assault.
It is vital, then, to account for the experiences of these neglected victims/survivors. This is especially important since LGBTQ+ individuals may experience unique forms of sexual assault, those of which are rarely represented in the public discourse. For instance, in their recent survey, Galop (2023) found that almost half of respondents had been targeted due to their LGBTQ+ identities. These forms of identity-related sexual assault included hyper-sexualisation and fetishisation, as well as corrective forms of sexual violence, including “all practices that have the predetermined outcome to change, “cure”, or suppress an individual or group of individuals’ orientation or gender identity” (Galop 2022, online).
The typical script of sexual assault not only silences these victims/survivors, but moreover, presents barriers to support for these individuals. Simpson and Helfrich (2005) identify several barriers to support for LGBTQ+ victims/survivors, including fears of facing homophobia, biphobia and transphobia from service providers, as well as concerns that service providers will not understand their specific support needs. Simpson and Helfrich (2005) note that such barriers are the result of wider systemic discriminations against LGBTQ+ individuals. The hetero-and-cissexist structures of wider society (which prioritise heterosexual and cisgender identities) are therefore mirrored within services, insofar as they typically understand sexual violence through a hetero-and-cisnormative script (Simpson and Helfrich 2005; Rymer and Cartei 2015).
This Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it is crucial to account for LGBTQ+ victims/sruvivors and the barriers to support they face. Below are some resources and services aiming to tackle this issue.
Services and resources:
Galop is the UK’s LGBT+ anti-abuse charity. They work with and for LGBT+ victims and survivors of interpersonal abuse and violence.
Email: help@galop.org.uk
Helpline: 0800 999 5428
Loving Me are a by-and-for service supporting trans and non-binary victims of domestic abuse or sexual violence.
Email: help@lovingme.uk
Helpline: 07902 478958
SafeLives are a UK-wide charity dedicated to ending domestic abuse for everyone.
Website: https://safelives.org.uk/practice_blog/making-domestic-abuse-services-accessible-lgbt-people
References:
Galop. (2022) The Use of Sexual Violence as an Attempt to Convert or Punish LGBT+ People in the UK. Available at: https://galop.org.uk/resource/the-use-of-sexual-violence-as-an-attempt-to-convert-orpunish-lgbt-people-in-the-uk/ (Accessed 07 March 2023).
Galop. (2023) Sexual violence: A snapshot of those harming LGBT+ people. Available at: https://galop.org.uk/resource/sexual-violence-a-snapshot-of-those-harming-lgbt-people/ (Accessed 09 December 2023).
Mortimer, S., Powell, A., and Sandy, L. (2019) Typical scripts’ and their silences: exploring myths about sexual violence and LGBTQ people from the perspectives of support workers, Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 31(3), pp.333-348. doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2019.1639287
Office for National Statistics (ONS) (2023) Sexual offences in England and Wales overview: year ending March 2022. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/bulletins/sexual offencesinenglandandwalesoverview/march2022#victim-services (Accessed 13 March 2024).
Rape Crisis England and Wales. (2024) Rape Crisis England and Wales Statistics. Available at: https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-informed/statistics-sexual-violence/ (Accessed 6 March 2024).
Rymer, S., and Cartei, V. (2015) Supporting transgender survivors of sexual violence: learning from users' experiences, Critical and Radical Social Work, 3(1), pp.155-164. doi: https://doi.org/10.1332/204986015X14235562796096
Simpson, E.K., and Helfrich, C.A. (2005) Lesbian Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence, Journal of Gay & Lesbian Social Services, 18(2), pp.39-59. doi: https://doi.org/10.1300/J041v18n02_03