Sexual violence in the lives of gay and bisexual men: diverse ways of life and specific vulnerabilities

Research has been increasingly attentive in recent years to sexual violence in the lives of gay and bisexual men, particularly in connection with the #MeTooGay movement. However, those studies have focused mainly on sexual abuse in childhood, overlooking violence in adulthood in these male sexual minority groups, as well as their diverse ways of life, the varied types of violence undergone, and the situations and contexts in which it is experienced. Drawing on INED’s 2015-2016 “VIRAGE-LGBT” survey, the study briefly presented below is the first to reveal that the violent acts to which men in these groups may be subjected vary by way of life, also showing that sexual violence may continue into adulthood, including within the context of couple relationships. 

Nine percent (9%) of survey respondents report having been subjected to violence within the family before the age of 18; slightly under 6%, in public places in the course of their lives, and 2%, in intimate partner relationships. Regardless of the sphere in which these violent acts take place, 2% of men report being raped or a victim of attempted rape in the preceding 12 months (see Table 1). Varying survey approaches and differing ways of delimiting the groups in question and formulating questions make it difficult to do cross-national comparisons of violence rates in these groups. Respondents’ perceptions and reports of violence vary by national context, public policies, and professional training. In France, despite improved visibility for sexual violence due to the #MeToo and #MeTooGay movements, the subject was seldom discussed publicly in 2015-2016, and 86% of respondents did not report any violence, while some reported having undergone severe violence. It is likely that the survey figures underestimate the real magnitude of the phenomenon. 

For a considerable proportion of gay and bisexual men, sexual life began with being forced to engage in sexual acts: 2% of respondents experienced forced relations, while 11% reported relations “given in to” (cédée) (i.e. accepted but not desired or sought). The median age for first sexual relation varies by whether and to what degree it was forced on the respondent: age 11 for a forced sexual act, 16 for an act cédé, and 18 for a desired one. 

The study also shows that men subjected to sexual violence in either childhood or adulthood are more likely to suffer from serious mental health issues, including suicidal thoughts, major episodes of depression, suicide attempts, and eating disorders such as bulimia. They also show a higher risk of being HIV-positive, a type of vulnerability even more present among men subjected to violence in both childhood and adulthood. These men are often younger, more socially disadvantaged, and their homosexuality is less likely to be known to others and more likely to be rejected by their family. 

Table 1. Sociodemographic and health characteristics of gay and bisexual men and sexual violence, 2015-2016

Source: 

Claire Scodellaro, Mathieu Trachman, Liam Balhan, Paul Reeve, “Sexual Violence in the Lives of Gay and Bisexual Men: Configurations, Dissemination, and Intimate Orientations", Population (English) 79 (1): 73-108 [FR]

Online: November 2024