Report: Domestic Violence Rate Among Same-Sex Couples Continues to Rise

A new report from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs indicates that domestic violence within the LGBT community remains a serious problem.

The coalition issued its report on 2010 statistics on Thursday, Oct. 27. The numbers show increases in domestic abuse incidents, but some experts attribute this jump to better reporting mechanisms.

The problem remained hidden until recent years because law enforcement authorities largely ignored it and victims often were reluctant to report abuse. Many still are, according to the report.

The NCAVP reported that violence among same-sex couples resulted in six deaths last year, the same number as in 2009.

The week before the coalition issued its report, police arrested Cara Rintala and later charged her with the murder of her wife, Annamarie, who was found strangled and beaten to death in their Granby, Mass., home on March 29, 2010.

Rintala was arrested on Oct. 19 in Narragansett, R.I., where she had been living with her parents and her 4-year-old daughter.

She pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder at her Oct. 27 arraignment in Hampshire Superior Court in Northampton. A judge ordered Rintala held without bail at a hearing the next day.

Eunice Fields of Brockton, Mass., reportedly confessed to killing her ex-girlfriend's Alcoholics Anonymous sponsor in the woman's Bridgewater, Mass., condo on Aug. 9, 2010, because she had come between the couple.

Prosecutors charged Fields with first-degree murder at her arraignment the next day. She pleaded not guilty despite her alleged confession to police and is awaiting trial.

The other four deaths in 2010 that the NCAVP attributed to domestic violence occurred in California, Kansas, Missouri and Wisconsin.

The report highlighted some disturbing trends. Violence was more severe than in previous years, less than half of domestic violence victims who sought orders of protection received them and they were more reluctant to contact law enforcement.

In 2010, coalition affiliates received more than 5,000 domestic violence reports, a 38 percent increase over 2009. More than half of the victims (55.4 percent) said they experienced physical violence, a major increase over the previous year when just over 36 percent reported it.

According to NCAVP, physical violence is just one of the ways domestic abuse manifests itself. Others include threats of violence, outing and stalking.

Victims often don't get the support they need when they report abuse. More victims (nearly 45 percent) were turned away from shelters in 2010 than in 2009, when fewer than 35 percent were.

"Lack of access to shelters and other supportive services increases a survivor's risk of immediate danger and puts their lives at risk at a critical moment," said Chai Jindasurat, NCAVP coordinator at the New York City Anti-Violence Project, in statement.

Only about seven percent of domestic abuse victims notified law enforcement in 2010-more than 20 percent did so in 2009.

This figures underscore a need to create public education campaigns that target domestic abuse prevention in the LGBT community, the coalition maintained.

Verizon Wireless has awarded the NCAVP a $25,000 grant to increase access and support for victims and survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Domestic violence occurs among couples in the community at the same rate as it does among heterosexuals, with women being affected more than men are.

"Rates of LGBT domestic violence is difficult because a lot of the community's members are closeted, but studies show that 25 to 33 percent of folks experience it," said Beth Leventhal, executive director of Boston's The Network/LaRed, an organization devoted to ending partner abuse, in an interview with EDGE. "That's the same rate as in the straight community."

"I think the numbers you see in this report are barely the tip of the iceberg," she added.

LGBT domestic abuse is not necessarily increasing, Leventhal pointed out. She attributed higher figures to better reporting through programs that are able to do more outreach.

While the bad economy is causing stress among LGBTs and straights alike, it's not contributing towards increases in domestic violence. "Stress is not what causes abuse," she maintained.

The economy is contributing to budget cuts, "so I think it affects people in that way," said Leventhal.