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David Bimbi, PhD(c), Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College, City University of New York, 250 West 26th Street, Suite 300, New York, NY 10001, (212) 206-7919, dbimbi@hunter.cuny.edu, Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD, Center for HIV Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College, 250 West 26th St., Suite 300, New York, NY 10009, and Jose Nanin, EdD, CHES, Center for HIV Eduational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College and Kingsborough Community College, City Univeristy of New York, 250 West 26th Street, New York, NY 10001.

Background: Domestic violence (DV) among lesbians and gays has often failed to assess “mutual battery” among same sex couples. The present study sought to examine differences in this population comparing those with no DV history, victims of DV, perpetrators of DV, and individuals who reported both.

Methods: Brief surveys were obtained from an ethnically diverse sample (57.1% white) of gay/bisexual men (n=1782; age, M=38) and lesbian/bisexual women (n=418; age, M=34) attending community events. Questions covered victimization and perpetration of DV, recent use of tobacco, alcohol and recreational drugs and a checklist of health care behaviors/experiences.

Results: Nearly half (44.1) % of all participants reported some experience with DV; 16.6% reported being the victim of DV, 4.1% reported being the perpetrator of DV, and 23.4% reported both. No differences were observed in DV experience by gender or race/ethnicity. Within gender, a clear pattern emerged among men, “mutual batterers” reported significantly higher rates of recent use of tobacco, alcohol, and several drugs. Perpetrators reported the lowest rates of discussing sexual identity (and alcohol use) with their health care providers. Among women, perpetrators and “mutual batterers” reported significantly higher rates of recent alcohol use. Among both genders, “mutual batterers” reported the highest rates eating disorders.

Conclusions: These findings indicate that gay men and lesbians remain a group at risk for the consequences of DV that be related to substance use and other compulsive disorders. Gay and lesbians have unique experiences with DV, and further research is necessary to understand DV in this population.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the prevalence of mutual battery among gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women.
• Discuss factors associated with mutual battery in this population.
• Identify differences in mutual battery between gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women.

Keywords: Domestic Violence, Drug Use

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered