Domestic Violence and Same Sex Relations



Abstract

In this research we try to discover the insight of “Domestic Violence” in a holistic perspective. The key heart of the study is on “Domestic Violence” and its relation with “Same Sex Relationships”. The research also examines various characteristics of “Domestic Violence” and tries to measure its effect. Lastly the research illustrates a variety of factors which are responsible for “Domestic Violence in Same Sex Relations” and tries to describe the overall effect of it.

Table of Contents

Introduction1

Discussion and Analysis1

Lesbian Battering and Violent Gay Male Partnerships2

Prevalence of Violence in Same-Sex Relationships3

Theories, Risk Factors, and Explanations4

Services Provided to Lesbian and Gay Male Victims of Partner Violence5

Conclusion7

Domestic Violence and Same Sex Relations

Introduction

Since the early 1980s, a growing body of research has revealed that violence within gay and lesbian relationships exists and is fairly well documented. According to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, in 2001, reported cases of interpersonal violence increased 25% in the gay and lesbian community, reaching a total of 5,046 cases. The term domestic violence is still used, but in academic and professional arenas, it has been replaced by intimate partner violence, which is a more inclusive term and more appropriately captures the dynamics and types of abusive relationships. Abuse in homosexual relationships is typically overlooked, especially in terms of theoretical scope because they explain domestic violence, theoretically, as a gender-based phenomenon: a form of male oppression of women. Consequently, same-sex intimate violence typically is not constructed as a social problem. Same-sex relationships do not enjoy the legitimacy given to heterosexual couples, thereby making it nearly impossible to recognize abuse among same-sex couples.

Discussion and Analysis

Undeniably, family violence and intimate partner violence historically applied only to traditional, heterosexual couples. So when scholars started studying same-sex domestic violence, attitudes from the public as well as social scientists ran from widespread ignorance to denial; either people believed that same-sex intimate abuse did simply not exist or they clung to stereotypical, sometimes homophobic, beliefs. However, over the years, the recognition of lesbian battering and violent gay male partnerships has continuously been challenging the view of domestic violence as unique to heterosexual intimate relationships. Although violence in gay male and lesbian relationships is in many ways similar to violence in heterosexual relationships, there are important differences. Some consider that gay male and lesbian batterers usually use the same coercive and abusive conducts as heterosexual male batterers, with identical motives and comparable consequences. This might be true to some extent; however, as described in this entry, there are unique features to same-sex domestic violence. This is apparent in the definition of domestic violence in this context and the behaviors that are labeled as violent, but it also shows in the way the phenomenon is somehow still invisible and in the way that many victims do not have anyone to tell (Merrill, 2000).

Lesbian Battering and Violent Gay Male Partnerships

In Naming the Violence: Speaking out about Lesbian Battering, a 1986 book edited by Kerry Lobel, Barbara Hart provided a definition of lesbian battering ...