1. Experiencias de la mujer:
Latina Sexual Minority Women’s
Experiences of Physical and Sexual
Violence
Jennie Thai, B.A., Howard Brown Health Center;
Frances Aranda, Ph.D., MPH, UIC College of Nursing;
Alicia K. Matthews, Ph.D., UIC College of Nursing

2. Introduction/Background
55%
45%
Over 53 million women in the US have
experienced interpersonal violence in their
lifetime.
Women who have NOT
experienced violence
Women who have
experienced violence
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011

3. Introduction/Background (cont.)
35%
37%
20%
44%
46%
Over a third of the women who have
experienced interpersonal violence in the US
identified as Latinas.
White
Latina
Asian / Pacific Islander
Black / African
American
Native American
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011

4. Introduction/Background (cont.)
• Sexual orientation an important but under-
researched risk factor for victimization among
women.
Definition
• Sexual minority women (SMW): women who
identify as lesbian, bisexual, or non-heterosexual

5. Introduction/Background (cont.)
Sexual minority individuals are:
• 3.8 times more likely than heterosexuals to
experience childhood sexual abuse
• 1.2 times more likely to experience childhood
physical abuse
• 2-4 times more likely to experience re-
victimization in adulthood
Friedman et al., 2011; Morris & Balsam, 2003

6. Implications of Violence on Health
Victimization
Stressful childhood experiences
Assault in adulthood
Depression
Anxiety
PSTD
Suicide ideation
Obesity
Alcohol
Substance use

7. Importance of Help-Seeking
• Civil protection orders effective at reducing
violence (Holt et al., 2003; Kothari et al., 2012)
• Fair court processes positively affect mental
health (Calton & Cattaneo, 2014)

8. Help-seeking Behaviors
Reporting experiences of victimization to law
enforcement and/or seeking medical or mental
health services following a victimization
experience are generally low
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2014; Tjaden & Thoennes, 2000

9. 2013 Help-Seeking Statistics
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2014
20%
80%
5.8% of sexual minority survivors of
violence reported seeking access to DV
shelters
Turned Away
Admitted

10. 2013 Help-Seeking Statistics (cont.)
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2014
58%
14%
7% 5% 3%
13%
Arrested
Victim
Verbal
Abuse
Slurs or Bias
Language
Physical
Violence
Sexual
Violence
Other
Negative
Experiences
Of the 22.4% survivors who reported
information about interacting w/ the police,
9.6% reported negative police experiences.

11. Barriers to Access
• Self-defense often mislabeled as mutual
battering
• Heightened discrimination and limits to legal
rights
• DV shelters tend to serve individuals by gender
National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2013; Stiles-Shields & Carroll, 2014

12. The Gap in Research
• Only a single study has examined reporting and
help-seeking behaviors SMW after experiences
of violence
• Most frequent responses to violence:
▫ Tell someone they trust
▫ Take no action
▫ Avoid the perpetrator
Bernhard, 2000

13. Study Aims
• Examine rates of childhood, adult, and re-
victimization experiences
• Describe the type of violence experienced by age
• Determine if actions taken in response to
violence differ by type of violence (physical,
sexual, or both) and age of occurrence (before
age 18, after age 18, or both)

14. Definitions
• Poly-victimization: experiencing more than one
type of violence
• Re-victimization: experiencing the same type of
victimization prior to and after age 18

15. Study Design
• Data collected in 2007-08 as part of a larger
“Proyecto Latina: Discovering All of Us” study of
Latina SMW

16. Participants
• N=280 Latina SMW living in a large Midwestern
metropolitan city
• Eligibility criteria:
▫ Age 18 and older
▫ Identified as non-heterosexual
▫ Could read and write either English or Spanish
▫ Could provide informed consent

17. Sample Characteristics
• Demographic variables included:
▫ Age
▫ Education
▫ Ethnic identity
▫ Citizenship

18. Sexual Identity
• Recognizing that sexuality is only part of your
identity, how do you define your sexual
identity?
▫ Lesbian/Gay/Homosexual
▫ Bisexual
▫ Queer
▫ Uncertain/Questioning
▫ I do not use labels to identify myself
“Other”

19. Physical Violence
1. Have you ever been physically attacked without a
weapon?
2. Have you ever been physically attacked with a
weapon?
3. Have you ever been physically attacked by a
partner?
4. Have you ever been physically abused by a
parent or guardian?

20. Sexual Violence
1. Has a stranger ever forced you into sexual
activity?
2. Have you ever been forced into sexual activity by
someone you know (not a partner or relative)?
3. Has a partner ever forced you into sexual
activity?
4. Have you ever been sexually abused by a parent,
guardian, or relative?

21. Follow-up Questions (Yes/No)
1. Did the violence occur before age 18?
2. Did the violence occur after age 18?
3. Was it reported to police?
4. Did you get medical or psychological treatment?

22. Total Sample
N = 280
Demographic Variablesa n %
Education
High school or less
Some college/technical/vocation
College degree
Graduate/professional degree
41
96
80
63
14.6
34.3
28.6
22.5
Sexual identity
Lesbian
Bisexual
Other
148
27
63
62.2
11.3
26.5
Ethnic identity
Mexican
Puerto Rican
Other
125
63
89
45.1
22.7
32.1
Citizenship
No
Yes
36
54
40.0
60.0
Results:
Demographics
• Age range: 18-60
(M = 33 years)
aNumbers and percentages differ due to missing data.

23. Total Sample
N = 280
Demographic Variablesa n %
Education
High school or less
Some college/technical/vocation
College degree
Graduate/professional degree
41
96
80
63
14.6
34.3
28.6
22.5
Sexual identity
Lesbian
Bisexual
Other
148
27
63
62.2
11.3
26.5
Ethnic identity
Mexican
Puerto Rican
Other
125
63
89
45.1
22.7
32.1
Citizenship
No
Yes
36
54
40.0
60.0
Results:
Demographics
• Age range: 18-60
(M = 33 years)
• Highly educated;
85% had more than
a high school
education
aNumbers and percentages differ due to missing data.

24. aNumbers and percentages differ due to missing data.
62%
11%
9%
6%
12%
0%
27%
Sexual Identity (na=238)
Lesbian
Bisexual
Queer
Uncertain/Questioning
Do not use labels
Other
Results: DemographicsResults: Demographics (cont.)

25. aNumbers and percentages differ due to missing data.
Results: Demographics (cont.)
45%
23%
3%
4%
9%
2%
13%
1%
32%
Ethnic Identity (na=277)
Mexican
Puerto Rican
Cuban
Central American
South American
Dominican
Bi-ethnic
Other

26. aNumbers and percentages differ due to missing data.
Total Sample
N = 280
Experiences of Violence na %
No violence
Sexual violence only
Physical violence only
Both types of violence
51
23
44
103
23.1
10.4
19.9
46.6
• More than a third (77%) reported at least one
experience of victimization
Results: Experiences of Violence

27. aNumbers and percentages differ due to missing data.
Physical
Violence
Only
20%
Sexual
Violence
Only
10%
Results: Types of Violence
Both Physical and Sexual Victimization 47%

28. Types of Violent Experiences
No violence
(n=51,
23.5%)
Only sexual
violence
(n=20,
9.2%)
Only
physical
violence
(n=43,
19.8%)
Both types
of violence
(n=103,
47.5%)
Total
(N=217)
Age at which
violence
occurred na % na % na % na % na %
No violence 51 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 51 100.0
Before 18 only 0 0.0 13 37.1 13 37.1 9 25.7 35 100.0
After 18 only 0 0.0 4 13.3 17 56.7 9 30.0 30 100.0
Before and
after 18
0 0.0 3 9.2 13 12.9 85 84.2 101 100.0
aNumber of valid responses for variables; Χ2(9)=301.84, p=.001
Results: Types of Violence (cont.)

29. Types of Violent Experiences
No violence
(n=51,
23.5%)
Only sexual
violence
(n=20,
9.2%)
Only
physical
violence
(n=43,
19.8%)
Both types
of violence
(n=103,
47.5%)
Total
(N=217)
Age at which
violence
occurred na % na % na % na % na %
No violence 51 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 51 100.0
Before 18 only 0 0.0 13 37.1 13 37.1 9 25.7 35 100.0
After 18 only 0 0.0 4 13.3 17 56.7 9 30.0 30 100.0
Before and
after 18
0 0.0 3 9.2 13 12.9 85 84.2 101 100.0
aNumber of valid responses for variables; Χ2(9)=301.84, p=.001
Results: Types of Violence (cont.)

30. Types of Violent Experiences
No violence
(n=51,
23.5%)
Only sexual
violence
(n=20,
9.2%)
Only
physical
violence
(n=43,
19.8%)
Both types
of violence
(n=103,
47.5%)
Total
(N=217)
Age at which
violence
occurred na % na % na % na % na %
No violence 51 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 51 100.0
Before 18 only 0 0.0 13 37.1 13 37.1 9 25.7 35 100.0
After 18 only 0 0.0 4 13.3 17 56.7 9 30.0 30 100.0
Before and
after 18
0 0.0 3 9.2 13 12.9 85 84.2 101 100.0
aNumber of valid responses for variables; Χ2(9)=301.84, p=.001
Results: Types of Violence (cont.)

31. Types of Violent Experiences
No violence
(n=51,
23.5%)
Only sexual
violence
(n=20,
9.2%)
Only
physical
violence
(n=43,
19.8%)
Both types
of violence
(n=103,
47.5%)
Total
(N=217)
Age at which
violence
occurred na % na % na % na % na %
No violence 51 100.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 0 0.0 51 100.0
Before 18 only 0 0.0 13 37.1 13 37.1 9 25.7 35 100.0
After 18 only 0 0.0 4 13.3 17 56.7 9 30.0 30 100.0
Before and
after 18
0 0.0 3 9.2 13 12.9 85 84.2 101 100.0
aNumber of valid responses for variables; Χ2(9)=301.84, p=.001
Results: Types of Violence (cont.)

32. Results: Response Actions
51%
16%
18%
15%
Actions Taken in Response to Victimization
(n=167)
Took no action
Reported it to police
only
Received treatment only
Reported and received
treatment

33. Actions in Response to Violence
No action Took action Total Χ2 p-value
Age at which violence
occurred
na % na % na % 17.47 .001
Before 18 only 26 76.5 8 23.5 34 100
After 18 only 19 65.5 10 34.5 29 100
Before and after 18 39 38.6 62 61.5 101 100
Total 84 51.2 80 48.8 164
Type of violence
experienced
na % na % na % 12.37 .002
Sexual violence only 15 68.2 7 31.8 22 100
Physical violence only 29 69.0 13 31.0 42 100
Both types of violence 42 40.8 61 59.2 103 100
Total 86 51.5 81 48.5 167
aNumber of valid responses for variables
Results: Response Actions (cont.)

34. Key Research Findings
• 2/3 experienced at least one victimization
• Alarming rates of re-victimization and poly-
victimization
• Sexual violence more common before 18
• Physical violence and combined types of violence
equally likely to occur in childhood and
adulthood

35. Key Research Findings (cont.)
• Reporting to police and receiving medical /
psychological treatment alarmingly low
• Reporting practices and receiving treatment
varied based on age and type of violence
experienced

36. Implications and Conclusions
• Outreach efforts needed to raise awareness
about prevalence of violence
• Cultural competency in assessing for and
addressing histories of victimization
• Cultural competent outreach and victim
advocacy services

37. Study Limitations
• Homogenous group in regards to education
• Cross-sectional design
• Self-reported data
• Use of the term “forced” assessing sexual
violence
• Phrasing of help-seeking questions
• Did not consider informal ways of reporting
violence
• Small sample size

38. Directions for the Future
• Explore general and unique barriers to help-
seeking
• Obtain better understanding of risk and
protective factors for various types of
victimization experiences

39. Thank you
Alicia K. Matthews, Ph.D.
Frances Aranda, Ph.D., MPH
UIC Writing Group
Bitch To Quit Research Team
Howard Brown Health Center
Amigas Latinas
Latina/o Psychology Today Bulletin
Kenny Oyama, M.S.

40. Read the brief report:
Thai, J., Matthews, A.K., & Aranda, F. (2015). Experiences of physical and
sexual violence among Latina sexual minorities: A brief report.
Latina/o Psychology Today, 2(1), 23-29.