"Society often views LGBTQ+ people as promiscuous, so they actually deserve sexual abuse," one victim believes. What needs to change?
While it could certainly be said that today's times are relatively open and that, at least in Western democracies, discrimination or outright punishment of people who are not part of the "majority" no longer occurs across the board, this does not mean that heteronormative culture with deeply rooted homophobia has completely disappeared. This is highlighted by the results of a survey by the UK NGO Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), which summarised quite a wide range of myths and stereotypes about LGBTQ+ victims of sexual violence. The survey then interviewed 31 LGBTQ+ people who had faced childhood sexual abuse, as well as three dozen organisations that help all LGBTQ+ victims of these acts to better understand their own experiences. And the issues the research highlights are certainly not happy ones...
When the majority is "clear"
That sexual orientation is an innate thing shouldn't need to be stressed these days. But it turns out that a whole range of people - including professionals working in different sectors where they come into contact with LGBTQ+ victims of sexual violence - think very differently. These are exactly the findings of IISCA research, which shows that queer victims of sexual abuse are often cited as the cause of it. And when young queer people experience sexual abuse, they often end up not only isolated from their loved ones, but also face a range of stigmas from the professionals who are supposed to lend a helping hand. But to make matters "worse," many victims still have to deal with accusations that they themselves have become sexual predators.
What have victims experienced?
Some of these victims have been told that their gender or sexual orientation is the result of sexual abuse that has seriously damaged their self-identity and mental health. "I have been asked if I happen to be non-binary because I experienced sexual abuse as a child, and if I am turning my misalignment with my body as a result of sexual abuse into a gender problem that does not really exist," is how a non-binary victim of abusedescribed her experience of "professional help". And the fact is that mental health professionals trained to work with LGBTQ survivors of sexual violence are few indeed - and so the risk that seeking help or counselling will end in more of a debacle, with the victim themselves being subjected to further stigma and shame, naturally increases. "Stigmas and myths have manifested strongly in the form of victim blaming and little understanding of the LGBTQ+ life experience. And so as a victim, one feels unheard, depressed, and all of this makes it very difficult to seek help," said another research respondent.
Others then directly faced the accusation that who they are is what caused the sexual abuse. It was not uncommon, then, even to claim that those who experienced sexual abuse subsequently perpetrated it themselves. Thus, it is not surprising that sexual abuse is still a taboo topic and many people are afraid to even address it adequately. "Despite the tremendous progress in acceptance of LGBTQ people, liberal attitudes are not shared by everyone. Thus, a huge number of people today are instinctively hostile to anything that deviates from 'heterosexual norms,'" another survivor of sexual abuse interviewed then summarized.
Numbers that don't please
Thus, topics such as sexual assault, abuse, and even domestic violence not only concern LGBTQ+ people just as much as the heterosexual population, but are even more downplayed in these cases. Sexual assault in childhood and adolescence, which is the focus of research in the UK, is still relatively common today, but statistics show that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to be victims of sexual violence than the straight majority. Specifically, almost 44% of lesbians will be victims of domestic violence, stalking or rape in their lifetime, compared to 26% of gay men, while 40% of gay men will also experience sexual violence other than outright rape. However, if the statistics are focused on these crimes in the context of heterosexual women and men, the female victims total 35% and the male victims 29%.
It is clear, therefore, that homophobia (and transphobia, etc.) still persists in society, and the heterosexual majority should at least be aware of the privileges that the majority sexual orientation brings. It is also appropriate to thematise that discrimination against LGBTQ people does not only mean verbal insults or ridicule, but also takes institutional forms. This is then mirrored in the fact that victims of sexual violence - whether adolescent or adult - prefer to keep what they have experienced hidden due to a number of objective concerns. Therefore, it is also important to remember that those working with LGBTQ+ victims should be sufficiently trained and able to overcome cultural myths and stereotypes that are not only hurtful, but can lead to sexual abuse or assault not being disclosed at all in the end.
