The invisible story of intimate partner violence against gay and bisexual men in Scotland

One in four gay and bisexual men (GBM) in Scotland have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) in the past year, yet face multiple barriers to accessing support, according to an evidence briefing led by Glasgow Caledonian University researchers.

The “We are INVISIBLE!” Same-Sex Male Relationship Intimate Partner Violence research brief, which will be presented to the Scottish Parliament later this month, brings together recent findings from two studies carried out at the University by Professor in Health Psychology Jamie Frankis and Dr Steven Maxwell.

GBM were able to share their personal and sometimes harrowing stories with the researchers during an in-depth study looking at the sexual, mental, and wider health of this group, led by Professor Frankis, and qualitative research of Scottish GBM IPV victims’ experiences, led by Dr Maxwell, who is now Researcher in Health and Social Sector Leadership at the University of Glasgow.

One of the men involved in the qualitative study said: “The first time that he raped me, I mean, I just, I sat in the shower all night, just with the water running over me… that part I remember very vividly. The first rape happened a few months in. It never stopped from that point then.”

A qualitative study participant told researchers: “To be a man and even admit that you were in an IPV relationship, I mean, it knocks confidence, it knocks your self-esteem, and self-worth. The hatred for yourself. The hatred for allowing it. There’s a huge stigma around men coming out as domestic abuse victims, because we’re men, we should be able to deal with it and fight back.”

Another GBM victim of IPV said: “The police do not take it seriously. I think it was a complete lack of training. They didn’t know how to treat it because it was man-on-man. There’s just a complete lack of empathy or understanding from the police about same-sex relations.”

The evidence brief for the Scottish Government makes recommendations to improve support and understanding of IPV experienced by GBM, through improving policies and service provision.

IPV comprises multiple types of abuse. It is defined by the World Health Organisation (2021) as behaviour by an intimate partner or ex-partner that causes physical, sexual, social, and mental health harm, including violence, sexual coercion, psychological abuse and controlling behaviours. However, it is important to acknowledge that GBM may experience IPV from casual or one-off partners, as well as regular or ex-partners.

Other key findings of the research include:

• Most GBM participants described experiencing coercive control with emotional, physical, sexual, and financial abuse. GBM commonly described experiencing ‘gaslighting’, emotional manipulation which led them to question their sense of reality and their sanity
• IPV contributed to short and long-term mental illness among GBM victims which included generalised anxiety disorder, depression, PTSD and suicidality
• GBM victims often stayed in abusive relationships due to a fear of being lonely. This was influenced by their belief that it was more challenging for GBM to find a long-term partner than heterosexuals
• The lack of available rape narrative within the GBM discourse made it difficult for victims to interpret the non-consensual sexual acts that were perpetrated as rape
• It was a common view that statutory services were not designed to support GBM and wider LGBTQ+ needs but instead focused on heteronormative IPV
• It was not uncommon for health and policing services not to recognise or dismiss GBM as victims as they perceived IPV in a heterosexual dynamic in which masculinity was linked with perpetrators

The research also found that LGBTQ+ allied services often made a safe space for victims to discuss their experiences, and LGBTQ+ identified therapists provided a peer related person-centred insight approach.

The briefing recommends setting up an expert advisory group to explore the extent of LGBTQ+ IPV experiences in Scotland and advise on priorities for policy reform, tailored GBM IPV support resources and more GBM community awareness.

Professor Frankis said: “The fact that one in four GBM have recently experienced IPV and that they as likely as heterosexual women to experience violence from their partners highlights how important this is but we found that there are clear barriers for GBM victims to accessing support services and they are simply not set up to cope with GBM issues around IPV.”

Dr Maxwell said: “IPV experienced by GBM and wider LGBTQ+ folk is an issue that many are unaware of. Our research found that IPV has a detrimental impact on an individual’s health, both in the short and long term, and can cause mental ill health including anxiety, PTSD, depression and suicidality.

“We hope that this research will help bridge the knowledge gap, increase public awareness and lead to policy change at a national level. We are due to attend the Scottish Parliament later this month to present the evidence on this urgent public health issue.”

Dr Frankis is co-lead of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Research Group in the School of Health and Life Sciences' Research Centre for Health (ReaCH). His research makes a direct and significant contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 3 – Good Health and Wellbeing, Goal 10 – Reduced Inequalities and Goal 16 - Promote peaceful and inclusive societies – issued by United Nations in 2015 as a blueprint for peace and prosperity across the planet.