An Updated Review of the Literature on LGBTQ+ Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

This paper reviews the LGBTQ+ intimate partner violence (IPV) literature published since 2015. Though LGBTQ+ IPV mirrors heterosexual cisgender IPV in most ways, sexual and gender minorities face higher rates of IPV, potentially worse outcomes, and different IPV trajectories. Therefore, shared risk factors cannot fully explain these differences. Researchers attribute this variability to minority stress, such as sexuality-based discrimination and internalized homophobia, which explain differences in IPV among LGBTQ+ individuals and heterosexual cisgender individuals. Indeed, recent findings support the importance of minority stress factors, especially internalized homophobia, as risk factors for IPV. Future research should focus on identifying protective factors against IPV within the LGBTQ+ community, as well as improving understanding of the variables that influence IPV at various levels of the social ecological model. Strategies for the prevention and intervention of LGBTQ+ IPV remain under-researched and poorly understood. Reducing minority stress is likely to be a key part of IPV prevention and intervention among LGBTQ+ persons.