Forced sex among lesbian, bisexual, and other women who have sex with women in New York City: Correlates and implications for health

Violence against women, with its serious negative health consequences, remains a major public health problem in the United States. While lifetime rates of partner violence, including forced sex, are higher among sexual minority women than among heterosexual women, limited research has addressed correlates and consequences of forced sex experiences among sexual minority women. The current study investigated forced sex experiences among a diverse sample of lesbian, bisexual and other women who have sex with women (n = 232) surveyed in the New York Metropolitan area. In this sample, 27.2% reported ever experiencing forced sex by a male, female, or both types of perpetrators. The results of logistic regression indicated that lower education, larger number of lifetime female sexual partners, ever having engaged in transactional sex, and problematic alcohol use (marginal significance) were associated with a higher likelihood of ever having experienced forced sex. Furthermore, in the subset of this sample among whom current emotional health was assessed (n = 95), a higher likelihood of having experienced forced sex was significantly associated with poorer emotional health. Age, sexual orientation, sexual risk behaviors, past year STIs, and self-reported HIV status were not associated with having ever experienced forced sex in this sample. The results of this study add to our understanding of sexual minority women's experiences with forced sex. Associations among forced sex experiences, transactional sex, problematic alcohol use, and emotional health suggest understudied consequential or co-occurring psychosocial health problems among sexual minority women that merit attention in future public health research.