Domestic violence within lesbian relationships is the pattern of violent and coercive behavior in a female same-sex relationship wherein a lesbian or other non-heterosexual woman seeks to control the thoughts, beliefs, or conduct of her female intimate partner. In the case of multiple forms of domestic partner abuse, it is also referred to as lesbian battering.
Prevalence
The issue of domestic violence among lesbians has become a serious social concern, but the topic has often been ignored, both in academic analyses and in the establishment of social services for battered women. The CDC has stated that 43.8% of lesbian women reported experiencing physical violence, stalking, or rape by their partners. The study notes that, out of those 43.8%, two thirds (67.4%) reported exclusively female perpetrators. The other third reported at least one perpetrator being male, however the study made no distinction between victims who experienced violence from male perpetrators only and those who reported both male and female perpetrators. Similarly, 61.1% of bisexual women reported physical violence, stalking, or rape by their partners in the same study with 89.5% reporting at least one perpetrator being male. In contrast, 35% of heterosexual women reported having been victim of intimate partner violence, with 98.7% of them reporting male perpetrators exclusively.
The Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention states, "For several methodological reasons – nonrandom sampling procedures and self-selection factors, among others – it is not possible to assess the extent of same-sex domestic violence. Studies on abuse between gay male or lesbian partners usually rely on small convenience samples such as lesbian or gay male members of an association." Some sources state that gay and lesbian couples experience domestic violence at the same frequency as heterosexual couples, while other sources state domestic violence among gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals might be higher than that among heterosexual individuals, that gay, lesbian, and bisexual individuals are less likely to report domestic violence that has occurred in their intimate relationships than heterosexual couples are, or that lesbian couples experience domestic violence less than heterosexual couples do. By contrast, some researchers commonly assume that lesbian couples experience domestic violence at the same rate as heterosexual couples, and have been more cautious when reporting domestic violence among gay male couples.
The issue of domestic violence among lesbian couples may be underreported due to the gender roles that women are expected to play in society; violence perpetrated by women may be ignored due to beliefs that the male social construction itself is a primary source of violence. The social construction of women is characterized as passive, dependent, nurturing, and highly emotional, and the social construction of men is characterized as competitive, aggressive, strong, and even prone to violence. Due to forms of discrimination, homophobia, and heterosexism, and the belief that heterosexuality is normative within society, domestic violence has been characterized as being between the male perpetrator and the female victim. This contributes to the invisibility of all domestic violence perpetrated by women. Further, the fear of reinforcing negative stereotypes could lead some community members, activists, and victims to deny the extent of violence among lesbians. Social service agencies are often unwilling to assist victims of domestic violence perpetrated by women. Victims of domestic violence in lesbian relationships are less likely to have the case prosecuted within existing legal systems.
In an effort to overcome the denial of domestic violence in lesbian relationships, advocates for abused women often concentrate on similarities between homosexual and heterosexual domestic violence. The main goal of activists is to legitimize lesbian domestic violence as real abuse and validate the experience of its victims.