The American Journal of Public Health has published a
detailed study of battering victimization in the male
homosexual community (December 2002, Vol. 92, No. 12). The probability-based
sampling of "men who have sex with men" (MSM) focused on
four geographical areas (San Francisco, Los Angeles,
Chicago, and New York) and resulted in 2,881 completed
telephone interviews.
Based on these responses, this first-of-its-kind study
determined that the rate of battering victimization among
gay men in the target group (men over 18 who had engaged in
homosexual activity since age 14, or who identified as gay,
homosexual, or bisexual) is "substantially higher than among
heterosexual men" and also possibly higher than the rate for
heterosexual women, according to the study.
The researchers report a high rate of battering within the
context of intimate homosexual partnerships, with 39% of
those studied reporting at least one type of battering by a
partner over the last five years.
In contrast, only about 7.7% of heterosexual men of all ages
report physical or sexual partner abuse during their entire
lifetimes. (Lifetime rates of abuse are generally higher
than those within a five-year period.)
Figures were also compared with studies on heterosexual
women who had been victims of violence within marriage or
while cohabiting with men, also within five-year periods.
Victimization for homosexual men (22%) was also
substantially higher than for heterosexual women (11.6%).
The study, conducted by researchers with the Center for AIDS
Prevention Studies (University of California, San
Francisco), Whitman-Walker Clinic (Washington, D.C.) and
Prevention Research Center, School of Social Work
(University of Washington, Seattle), examines three specific
types of gay male-to-gay male assault:
psychological/symbolic battering (verbal threats, ridicule
in front of others, forced substance abuse, destruction of
property, stalking), physical battery, and sexual battery
(forced sexual activity).
Demographic information collected included each respondent's
age, educational level, race/ethnicity, employment status,
income, sexual self-description (gay, homosexual, bisexual,
etc.), HIV status, and city of residence.
The research interviews covered the most recent five years
of the respondents' lives, revealing that, within that time
frame, 34% of the urban males interviewed had been victims
of psychological/symbolic abuse, 22% had been physically
victimized, and 5.1% had experienced sexual abuse. Overall,
39.2% reported one or other type of battering, of which
18.2% reported being victimized by more than one type of
battering over the five-year period.
In terms of personal statistics concerning the victims, it
was found that homosexual males age 40 or younger were much
more likely to be the victim of abuse by a same-sex partner
than those age 60 or over. Those with graduate and
professional degrees were also less likely to be the target
of such violence than men with a college degree or lower.
Men infected with the AIDS virus were more at risk for
psychological and physical abuse than their HIV-negative
peers. HIV-infected men were also more likely to be
victimized in a sexual manner.
According to the study, none of the battering outcomes
appeared associated with racial or ethnic identity, income
level, self-described sexual orientation, or the city of
residence.
The study states that the most significant factor in male
same-sex partner violence is age: a 3.8% rate for 18-29
year olds, 3.9% among those between the ages of 30 and 39,
and 2.7% in the 40-49-age bracket. Men under the age of 40
were found to be six times more likely to report abuse than
those 60 or older, with subjects between 40 and 50 being
four times as likely.
The conclusion arrived at by the researchers, based upon
these figures, is that the rate of abuse between urban
homosexual men in intimate relationships "is a very serious
public health problem."
The complete study may be found at
