PAVE
Shatter the Silence of Sexual Violence
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LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender)
When looking at the issue of sexual assault, we must break through the traditional thinking of a man perpetrating a sex crime against a woman. Sexual assault and rape happen in ery community, yet unfortunately some groups feel even more silenced. PAVE's original LGBTQ Coordinator had discussed at workshop the difference she had felt after being sexually assaulted by a man in high school and raped by a woman in college. She contrasted those two experiences emphasizing how after the latter, felt as though there was no one to urn to and no where to go where they would understand. She made the point that what differentiates people in the LGBT community from 'straight' people is mostly sexual related, as well as the issue of lesbians being sexualized in our culture. People who identify as such can have a more difficult time discussing the issues of sex crimes because they don't want to be outcasted from not only their group, but they also want to protect their community from possible outside scrutiny.Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered (LGBT) Populations and Sexual Assault
- Approximately 10% of hate crimes against gay men and lesbians include sexual assault. (Comstock, Violence Against Lesbians and Gay Men, 1991).
- Homophobia in our culture puts LGBT people at greater risk for sexual assault. It is common for perpetrators to use sexual violence as a way to punish and humiliate someone for being LGBT.
- Gay men reported 1.6 incidents of sexual assault on average; in comparison with the 1.2 incidents reported by lesbians. (Waldner-Haugrud, Lisa K. and Vaden Gratch, Linda. 1997. Sexual Coercion in Gay/Lesbian Relationships: Descriptives and Gender Differences. Violence and Victims, Vol. 12, No. 1, 87-98).
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