Over 30% of gay and bisexual men claimed to have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in their lifetime, and 17% reported ever perpetrating IPV.
This is according to a study – “Prevalence, Determinants, and Trends in the Experience and Perpetration of Intimate Partner Violence Among a Cohort of Gay, Bisexual, and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver, Canada (2017–2022)” by Stephen Juwono, Jorge Luis Flores Anato, Allison L. Kirschbaum, et al – that appeared in LGBT Health.
For this study, the researchers used data from the Engage Cohort Study (2017–2022) of GBM recruited using respondent-driven sampling in Montréal, Toronto, and Vancouver. This is so they could estimate the prevalence of past six-month physical and/or sexual IPV experience and perpetration, identify their determinants, and assess temporal trends, including the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID)-19 pandemic.
Some of the key findings included:
- Between 2017 and 2022, 1,455 partnered GBM (median age 32 years, 82% gay, and 71% White) had at least one follow-up visit.
- At baseline, 31% of participants experienced IPV in their lifetime and 17% reported ever perpetrating IPV.
- During follow-up, IPV experience was more common (6) than perpetration (4%).
- Factors associated with IPV experience included prior IPV experience, lower education, and substance use. Similar factors were associated with IPV perpetration.
- IPV was stable over time; periods of COVID-19 restrictions were not associated with IPV changes in this cohort.
Basic: Prevalence of IPV was high among GBM, and “determinants related to marginalization were associated with an increased risk of IPV,” the researchers stressed. For the researchers, therefore, “interventions should address these determinants to reduce IPV and improve health.”
