Young Bisexual People’s Experiences of Sexual Violence: A Mixed-Methods Study

Abstract

Bisexual people are at an increased vulnerability for sexual victimization in comparison to heterosexual people, as well as gay and lesbian people. As the majority of first sexual violence experiences happen prior to age 25 for bisexual women, young bisexual people are particularly vulnerable. Despite consistent evidence of this health disparity, little is known about what factors might increase young bisexual people's risk for sexual victimization, or how they access support post-victimization. The current study addresses this gap through a mixed-method investigation of young bisexual people's experiences of sexual violence with a sample of 245 bisexual people age 18-25. Quantitative results indicate that bisexual stigma significantly predicts a greater likelihood of reporting an experience of sexual violence. Qualitative findings support that while not all participants felt bisexual stigma related to their experience of sexual violence, some felt negative bisexual stereotypes were substantial factors. Interview participants found connecting with other survivors, particularly LGBTQ+ and bisexual survivors, to be beneficial. Some participants encountered barriers to accessing support, such as discrimination in schools. Sexual violence researchers should consider bisexual stigma as an important factor, and support services the potential positive impact of bisexual-specific survivor support.

Examining substance-involved sexual experiences and consent communication by sexual identity

“…These preliminary findings suggest that SM women are not being assaulted by other women, but rather men. Our findings reflect prior research (Flanders et al, 2020). SM women's sexual perpetrators may be more likely to be men because our SM group is primarily comprised of women who identify as bisexual (16% of women in the SM group identified as bisexual) and bisexual women are at the highest risk of experiencing sexual assault compared with other SM identities (Canan et al, 2019;Flanders et al, 2019;Hequembourg et al, 2013).…”

“…For instance, women's internalisation of bisexual stigma (e.g. 'people do not take me seriously when I tell them I am bisexual') was associated with an increased risk of sexual assault victimisation (Flanders et al, 2020). Additionally, having experiences where someone else stigmatised or mistreated someone who identified as bisexual was also associated with an increased risk of sexual victimisation for the person who identified as bisexual (Flanders et al, 2020(Flanders et al, , 2019.…”

“…Bisexual stigma may correlate to victimisation experiences because women who identify as bisexual may feel internalised pressure to 'prove' they are bisexual by engaging in more sexual encounters -a coping strategy that could be associated with greater risk of encountering an aggressive partner. These women may also be perceived as being 'open to having sex' with anyone given that they are sexually and romantically interested in women and men (Flanders et al, 2020(Flanders et al, , 2015(Flanders et al, , 2017. Thus, their sexual communication cues (both consent and refusals) may be discounted and ignored during sexual activity.…”

Exploring potential determinants of sexual victimization disparities among young sexual minoritized people: A mixed-method study.

“…Flanders et al (2019) reported that among a sample of bi+ women, bisexual stigma was positively associated with increased reports of sexual violence. A mixed-method study of young bisexual people replicated these findings both qualitatively and quantitatively (Flanders et al, 2020). Further, both bisexual stigma and internalized heterosexism have been found to be associated with greater odds of experiencing verbal sexual coercion among bisexual women (Salim et al, 2020).…”

Differences in Rape Acknowledgment and Mental Health Outcomes Across Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Bisexual Youth

“…The data reported in this article were from a larger mixed-methods project investigating the sexual victimization experiences and mental health of young bisexual people aged 18 to 25 (Flanders, Anderson, & Tarasoff, in preparation). All study procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Mount Holyoke College.…”