ESRI Report Highlights Higher Sexual Violence Risks for Bisexual People And Gay Men

Lucas Crosse of Midlands LGBT+ Project discusses new ESRI findings on sexual violence, towards bisexual people and gay men.

A new ESRI report has found that bisexual people and gay men face a significantly higher risk of experiencing sexual violence. The report published yesterday found that 55% of bisexual people surveyed had experienced sexual violence as adults, compared with 25% of heterosexual people.

The results came as no surprise to Lucas Crosse the Community Development Officer for Midlands LGBT Project. 

“I wish it did surprise me but doesn’t to be honest”

The research also challenges assumptions about who commits sexual violence, finding that perpetrators are often people known to the victim and that incidents frequently occur in familiar surroundings, including their own home or someone else’s.

The findings highlight the need for prevention measures and support services that recognise the higher risks faced by bisexual people and gay men

When speaking about the effects sexual violence has on a person Lucas says “This is violence but it’s a very different type of violence its intimate it’s personal and you carry it with you and it comes with a lot of shame connected to it.”

Lucas says support services are available, but a key challenge is ensuring bisexual people and gay men know where to turn for help. To change attitudes Lucas says “We need to get really uncomfortable and call it out, the difficult conversations need to happen no matter what the situation”

Gay nightlife settings can become normalised and accepted as part of culture. Lucas agreed that new boundaries need to be established around consent and acceptable behaviour and that will take time. Lucas’s message is that unwanted sexual contact should never be accepted as part of the culture. Raising awareness of consent, respecting awareness of consent, respecting personal boundaries and ensuring people know how to access support are key to changing that discussed in full on Shine A Light.

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