Nearly 4 million Californians report sexual or physical violence from a spouse or companion

University of California - Los Angeles ^ | Apr 28, 2010 | Unknown

[decimon]

UCLA study find that lesbians, gays and bisexuals are at particularly high risk

Nearly 4 million adults in California reported being a victim of physical or sexual violence at the hands of a spouse, companion or other intimate partner, according to a new policy brief from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.

Of those victims, more than 1 million reported being forced to have sex by an intimate partner, the study found.

Although reported incidences of intimate partner violence, or IPV, are widespread, especially among women and certain ethnic groups, reported IPV was surprisingly high among lesbians, gays and bisexuals in California, who are almost twice as likely to experience violence as heterosexual adults, researchers said.

Specifically, 27.9 percent of all lesbian or gay adults reported experiencing IPV in their adult lives. The rate of reported IPV is even higher among bisexual adults, at 40.6 percent. In contrast, only 16.7 percent of heterosexual adults reported incidences of IPV.

"This is not a group commonly associated with violence," said the study's lead author, Elaine Zahnd, a sociologist and senior research scientist at the Public Health Institute, which partners with the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research in conducting the California Health Interview Survey. "These findings should cause us to reconsider our assumptions about the root causes of violence, even as we redouble our efforts to eradicate it."

Zahnd noted that the large number of Californians experiencing violence made the preservation of state-subsidized domestic violence shelters and services — currently under threat from budget cuts — all the more essential.

Also important, the researchers said, is routine screening by health providers to check for signs that might be indicative of violent victimization among men and women, such as substance abuse. In the study, researchers found that nearly one in 10 victims of recent IPV engaged in binge drinking, possibly as a way of coping with the mental and emotional trauma of abuse. Such signs might help health providers identify a problem that is often not obvious, as only 56.5 percent of victims report talking about such violence with a third party.

"This is often an invisible health crisis," said study co-author David Grant, director of UCLA's California Health Interview Survey.

The study, supported by the Blue Shield of California Foundation, draws on new data on IPV from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), the nation's largest state health survey and consequently one of the largest surveys of IPV victims in the nation. The CHIS is also one of the few surveys to collect extensive health data on lesbians, gays and bisexuals. The survey is conducted by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, in collaboration with the Public Health Institute, the California Department of Public Health and the Department of Health Care Services.

Other findings from the study include:

Divorced, widowed Californians at risk

The rate of adult IPV among Californians who are separated, divorced or widowed is among the highest of all groups, at 41.0 percent. This is nearly twice the rate of adults living with a partner (24.6 percent) and more than three times the rate of married (13.3 percent) or single (13.2 percent) adults.

Gender disparity persists

Women are almost twice as likely (21.0 percent) to be victims of adult physical violence as men (11.0 percent) and are eight times (8.0 percent) as likely to report being the victim of sexual violence since turning 18 as men (1.0 percent).

High levels of recent IPV among Latinos

While the overall IPV rate was relatively low among Latinos — only 13.7 percent of American-born and 10.5 percent of foreign-born Latinos reported experiencing IPV since turning 18 — 28.3 percent of those who have experienced IPV reported incidences in the last 12 months, the second highest rate of recent IPV after African Americans (30.6 percent).

Asians have the lowest rates of IPV

Among U.S.-born Asians, 13.4 percent reported incidences of IPV. Among foreign-born Asians, the rate was even lower, at 7.1 percent.

###

Read the policy brief, "Nearly Four Million California Adults Are Victims of Intimate Partner Violence."

The Public Health Institute (PHI) is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting health, well-being and quality of life for people throughout California, across the nation and around the world.

The Blue Shield of California Foundation is committed to making health care effective, safe and accessible for all Californians and to ending domestic violence. The foundation blends community-based philanthropy with strategic innovation to move our state forward. As one of California's largest health philanthropies, the foundation serves as a catalyst for change, promoting new solutions and bringing together a diverse array of stakeholders.

The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) is the nation's largest state health survey and one of the largest health surveys in the United States.

The UCLA Center for Health Policy Research is one of the nation's leading health policy research centers and the premier source of health-related information on Californians.

For more news visit the UCLA Newsroom and follow us on Twitter.

[Our man in washington]

So we straight married folks are at the lowest risk for domestic violence. I dare the mass media to run that story!

[decimon]

So we straight married folks are at the lowest risk for domestic violence.

If you're Asian.

[massmike]

....lesbians, gays and bisexuals in California are almost twice as likely to experience violence as heterosexual adults

Captain Obvious couldn't make it.

However.......

...the good detective had some free time....

[Pollster1]

Don't be silly. Gay/bi/lesbian are by definition superior in all respects. The "diverse" contingent of society is merely doing a better job of responding truthfully to the survey.

Future headline: "Married Couples and Asians in Denial on Sexual Violence"

[Jeff Chandler]

IPV was surprisingly high among lesbians, gays and bisexuals in California, who are almost twice as likely to experience violence as heterosexual adults

. . . and loving it.

[popdonnelly]

Ellen and Oprah will do shows on it right away.

[Oldpuppymax]

“So we straight married folks are at the lowest risk for domestic violence. I dare the mass media to run that story!”

Actually, straight, married Asian and WHITE folks are at the lowest risk. But don’t hold your breath for the CNN special report.

[Our man in washington]

You are correct about the Asians. I overlooked that point.

The Asians also have low crime rates. The data are overwhelming that this group is not prone to violence.

On the other hand, the last hundred years have seen the millions killed by Mao, the millions killed by the nationalists in China, the millions killed by the Japanese, the millions killed by the Khmer Rouge, the hundreds of thousands killed by the Vietnamese, the millions killed by the North Koreans, the slaughters in Burma, the million people killed in India and Pakistan during the India-Pakistan separation, the slaughters in Bangladesh when they tried to get their independence from Pakistan, the killings in East Timor, and I’m probably missing a few.

I have no conclusion here. It’s just interesting. Even the Asians that have emigrated from cultures with a history of violence have not been violent here, for the most part. Go figure.

[WOBBLY BOB]

Does this mean Mayor Coleman in St.Paul will ban travel to San Francisco?
they seem pretty hateful.

[decimon]

The Asians also have low crime rates.

"It's Chinatown, Jake."

Difficult to determine criminality in insular ethnic communities and the Asian communities have been particularly insular.

[a fool in paradise]

There are women who are battered by their husbands and leave the relationship for lesbianism. And then they learn that women (especially butch lesbians) can hit a person too.

The media is silent on this matter. Why isn't this weekly fodder on Lifetime since the incidence rate is higher for homosexuals and bisexuals?

[a fool in paradise]

That's settles it, I'm going to get a race-change operation.

[Chode]

the mental illness of homosexuality takes many forms... violence is one of them