Sexual Violence in Lesbian and Queer Relationships - Double Invisibility

This article investigates experiences of intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) and help-seeking from the perspectives of lesbian and queer victim-survivors in Sweden. IPSV is often missing from the broader discourse on IPV. For lesbian and queer victim-survivors, misrecognition is exacerbated by heteronormative and gendered conceptions of sexuality and violence, rendering their experiences invisible and illegible. Our findings suggest that sexual violence is particularly associated with additional shame and stigma making it harder to seek support. This is in part to do with the incomprehensible nature of sexual violence within a violent relationship, since sexual violence is often entangled with other forms of violence and coercive control. Strategies of resistance such as appearing to consent to sexual acts to avoid escalation of violence or fighting back physically can make it harder for queer victims of IPSV to identify themselves as victims of violence. This non-recognition of IPSV in lesbian and queer relationships has implications for help-providers who must ask more indirect questions about the effects of sexual violence and abuse in order to provide adequate support for queer victim-survivors of IPSV.