According to Bandyopadhyay and Omar (2010), dating violence is any emotional, psychological, physical, and/or sexual act that is abusive in nature. This abusive behavior can be used, with or without intention or understanding, in a dating relationship that involves at least one teen. Acts of self-defense are not included in this definition. Dating violence can occur as one discrete event or present as a pattern of behavior that occurs over the course of the relationship. Dating violence can occur as early as the first date, so it's imperative that all teenagers - straight, bi, lesbian, gay or transexual - to understand the characteristics of who is, or could become, a violent companion. .
Gallopin and Leigh (2009) reported that lesbian, gay, and bisexual teens are at increased risk for teen dating violence. Approximately 50% of lesbian and gay youth report experiencing some form of dating violence. Bisexual youth appear to experience higher rates of interpersonal violence than gay and lesbian youth, although the exact reason for this is not fully known. Abusive LGBT relationships have the same dynamics of power and control as straight relationships, but frequently go undetected and unreported. Because of this, abuse in LGBT relationships is a social issue that's rarely discussed. Leigh conducted a study to examine the dating violence LGBT experiences by using four research questions to guide them in defining the importance of raising issues that occur within these LGBT relationships. The results showed that compared to heterosexual youth, LGBT youth had higher proportions of female (69 percent), transgender (5 percent), and non-White (47 percent) youth.
Types of Abuse.
- Physical Abuse: occurs when a teen is pinched, hit, shoved, or kicked .
- Emotional Abuse: threatening a teen or harming his/her sense of self worth .
- Sexual Abuse: forcing a teen to engage in a sex act (e.g. fondling and rape).