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There remains a paucity of research examining the barriers to reporting sexual assault among gay and bisexual male assault survivors, despite much higher sexual assault victimization rates for gay and bisexual men. Few researches have examined barriers for gay Latino and/or Black male sexual assault survivors, specifically focusing on the role of racism and homophobia. To address this gap in literature, our study examined the specific barriers to reporting sexual assault for gay Latino (including Black) male sexual assault survivors, with a focus on how their multiple marginalized identities influenced their decision-making process. The study consisted of 14 gay Latino sexual assault survivors from six cities in the United States who participated in one-on-one semistructured in-depth interviews. Our data revealed three themes: (a) Bias and Discrimination, which describes how racism, homophobia, and gendered ideology serve as barriers to reporting sexual assault; (b) the Unjust Reporting Process focuses on the unnecessarily difficult, complex, and unclear timely reporting process; and (c) Retraumatization, which describes how participants were likely to be retraumatized by reporting. Content analysis was conducted and methodology consistent with this analysis was completed. Our findings provide recommendations to enhance the reporting process for gay Latino male sexual assault survivors which include law enforcement practices (e.g., Training tailored for engaging with LGBTQIA+ individuals and male survivors) as well as agency-wide practices (e.g., trainings and groups specifically for gay and bisexual men of color). All practices should be survivor centered and trauma-informed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT), individuals experience higher rates of violent victimization compared to their cisgender heterosexual counterparts over their life course. Among Black LGBT people, witnessing and experiencing violence have been related to poor health outcomes, including depression, risky sexual behavior, substance use, and lower engagement in healthcare services. We engaged in research to better understand the effects of violence experienced by the Black LGBT youth community. We conducted a qualitative, phenomenological study focused on the causes of violence occurring in the lives of Black LGBT youth engaged in a recreation-based community health program. The study consisted of four focus groups with Black LGBT youth (N = 24) and in-depth individual interviews with medical and social service providers who work with Black LGBT youth (N = 4). Data analysis presented three themes: (1) causes of violence, (2) the context of intracommunity violence, and (3) solutions to violence. The first theme describes the reasoning, motivation, or explanation for violence experienced by the Black LGBT youth community. The second theme, the context of intracommunity violence, describes how violence occurs specifically within Black LGBT young adult communities. The third theme, solutions to violence, describes the recommendations for addressing, reducing, and/or eliminating violence within the Black LGBT youth community. Our findings highlight the need for safe spaces, culturally-relevant services, and trusted figures for Black LGBT young adults, which can serve as mechanisms for mitigating violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Campbell and colleagues propose a robust and rigorous strategic model to address and reduce Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct (RVSM) at Michigan State University, which significantly advances the field of RVSM prevention and education, particularly for survivors belonging to marginalized populations. While prior efforts have addressed RVSM on college and university campuses, Campbell and colleagues' model is groundbreaking in its ability to reduce RVSM against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, and asexual/agender (LGBTQIA+) students of color, by its principles of intersectional and trauma-informed action. This commentary highlights the contributions of Campbell et al.'s model and provides recommendations for enhancing programming and postassault services by addressing the totality of LGBTQIA+ survivors of color's identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]