Sexual assault may include (but is not limited to) forced vaginal or anal penetration, forced oral sex, forced touching, or any additional form of forced sexual activity.
Sexual assault may occur on a date, between friends, partners or strangers.
Issues regarding sexual assault that are unique to the LGBTQIA+ community:
Survivors who are not “out” may find sharing and/or reporting the sexual assault difficult or impossible.
Due to the lack of awareness surrounding sexual assault the LGBTQIA+ community may make silence appear the only option.
If the survivor’s community is small, the fear of other’s skepticism and/or people “taking sides” may cause the survivor to keep silent.
Guilt and self-blame (which are common symptoms of all survivors) may lead to questioning ones sexual identity and sexuality.
One’s own internalized homophobia may further complicate the complexities of sexual assault.
Gay/bi male identified survivors may be apprehensive to report and fear being ignored and/or rejected as overly sensitive due to the stereotype that they are promiscuous and invited the assault upon themselves.
Lesbian/bi women identified survivors may face being ignored or having their claims discarded if their attacker is a female because women are not socially seen as sexual perpetrators.
Common fears of LGBTQIA+ sexual violence survivors:
Not being taken seriously or having their experience minimized.
Not having their experience labeled as sexual assault or rape.
Having their experience sensationalized.
Having to explain how the assault happened in more detail than one would ask a survivor of opposite-sex assault.
Being blamed for the assault.
Not being understood or being blamed if it happened in an S&M environment.
Being treated in a homophobic manner by the police, hospital staff or others.
