- Jun 18, 2026
- Posted by:
- Category: Abstract of 7th-icgss
Abstract Book of the 7th International Conference on Gender Studies and Sexuality
Year: 2026
[PDF]
The Price of Belonging: Towards a Typology of Sexual Abuse Among LGBTQ+ Individuals
Hadas Bloemendal, Prof.Dafna Tener, Prof. Yochay Nadan
ABSTRACT:
Existing frameworks for categorizing sexual violence inadequately capture the forms, contexts, and dynamics that characterize abuse within and against LGBTQ+ populations. This paper presents a typology of sexual abuse among LGBTQ+ individuals, organized across two intersecting axes. The first axis- proximity to perpetrator- encompasses abuse within intimate partnerships, which occurs at elevated rates among LGBTQ+ individuals and is significantly linked to internalized homophobia through minority stress mechanisms; intrafamilial abuse, occurring at approximately 3.8 times the rate found among heterosexual populations; and peer-group abuse, shaped by LGBTQ+ youth’s limited access to age-appropriate social contexts. The second axis- type and context of abuse- includes four categories with particular relevance to LGBTQ+ experience: age-gap abuse, reflecting normalized power differentials in community relationships; experimenting abuse, an original category developed inductively from the data, referring to sexual violations occurring in the context of first same-sex encounters and exploiting the intersection of identity exploration, inexperience, and desire for belonging; grooming using shared LGBTQ+ identity as a lever for trust and access; and conversion therapy as a distinct and underrecognized form of sexual abuse. This typology makes a theoretical contribution by offering a more differentiated, LGBTQ+-sensitive map of sexual violence, with practical implications for clinical assessment, therapeutic approaches, professional training, and LGBTQ+-specific policy in sexual violence services.
Keywords: Conversion Therapy; Experimenting Abuse; Grooming; LGBTQ+; Minority Stress; Sexual Abuse Typology