When Intimate Partner Violence Meets Same Sex Couples: A Review of Same Sex Intimate Partner Violence

Course overview

Over the past few decades, the causes of and intervention for intimate partner violence (IPV) have been approached and studied. This paper presents a narrative review on IPV occurring in same-sex couples, that is, same-sex intimate partner violence (SSIPV). Despite the myth that IPV is exclusively an issue in heterosexual relationships, many studies have revealed the existence of IPV among lesbian and gay couples, and its incidence is comparable to (Turell, 2000) or higher than that among heterosexual couples (Messinger, 2011; Kelley et al., 2012). While similarities between heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) IPV were found, unique features and dynamics were present in LGB IPV. Such features are mainly related to the identification and treatment of SSIPV in the community and to the need of taking into consideration the role of sexual minority stressors.