April
is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and across campus students will
engage in and discuss the prevention of sexual assault. However, many of these
discussions will likely focus on cases where the victim
is a woman and the perpetrator is a man. While these assaults are
extremely important to address, it is also vital that we recognize
sexual violence within the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community.

According
to the National Center for Victims of Crime, sexual assault is a crime
in which one person knowingly causes another person to engage in an
unwanted sexual act by force or threat. Sexual assault is often a common
form of domestic or intimate partner violence between two people who
know each other, often a couple. Sexual assault often occurs in the form
of forced vaginal or anal penetration, forced oral sex or unwanted
bodily touching.

While
a majority of these violent acts do occur between men and women, sexual
assault is also problem within the LGBTQ community, and is more common
than many think. In fact, domestic violence is just as frequent within
same-sex relationships as it is in heterosexual relationships, occurring
in 25-35 percent of intimate relationships.

One
common misunderstanding about sexual violence within the LGBTQ
community is that it does not occur in lesbian relationships because women are not thought of as aggressive or violent. Sexual violence is often trivialized and considered
nothing more than a “cat fight” between two women. Similarly, the excuse
“boys will be boys” is often used to excuse dating/ domestic violence
between two gay men.

But sexual assault is a matter of power and
control and occurs when one individual believes to be superior and more
powerful than another individual. The sexual violence that arises out
of these power dynamics is certainly not restricted to men or straight
couples, but also lesbian and gay relationships.

According
to Amnesty International, another common misunderstanding about LGBTQ
sexual violence is that only gay men sexually assault other men. This,
however, is not the case. In fact, most men who have raped other men
consider themselves heterosexual. Rape is about exerting power and
control over another individual, and it is usually not because of sexual
attraction.

Furthermore,
sexual violence against male to female transgendered individuals is
common, though these incidents are rarely prosecuted in criminal justice
system. Out of 3,658 people reporting intimate partner violence to the
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, a coalition of groups
working to end domestic and sexual violence in the LGBTQ community, in
2009 only 3.4 percent were male to female and 1.3 percent were female
to male.

Another
problem concerning sexual assault within the LGBTQ community is that
victims often face tougher barriers when reporting their cases. Because
of these common myths surrounding LGBTQ sexual assault, many people
are hesitant to believe a gay man or lesbian woman who says their
partner sexually assaulted them. Furthermore, LGBTQ sexual assault
victims often refrain from reporting because they fear they will be
judged or told “they deserve it” because of their sexual orientation.
The situation can be escalated if a victim has not come out about their
sexual orientation before and fears telling someone about their sexual
assault case will force them to do so.

Sexual
assault victims at the University of Wisconsin can call the Rape Crisis Center’s 24-hour
hotline at 608-251-RAPE for immediate assistance. University Health
Services also offers counseling, both scheduled and drop-in, for UW students who have been victims of sexual assault.

Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in A1 Gordon Commons, PAVE is hosting Break the Silence
Around Violence. Anyone looking to learn more about this issue and ones
like it is more than welcome to attend.

Kelsey
Gunderson ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in journalism and political science. She
works as a media volunteer for PAVE. For more information about PAVE, visit uwpave.com.