Bisexual Women Face More Sexual Violence Than Others: Study

A recent study published in the Journal of Bisexuality, based on a survey of women in the United States, found that bisexual women face more sexual violence than both straight and lesbian women. About 75 percent women who identified as being bisexual reported experiencing some form of sexual violence, while 50 percent said they had been raped.

“Although several studies have noted higher rates and negative consequence of sexual violence in bisexual women, few have attempted to unravel the connections between bisexuality and victimization,” the abstract of the study says. And that is precisely what it sets out to do.

According to Nicole Johnson, a counseling psychology professor at Lehigh University's College of Education, who was lead author of the study, there are three main factors that contribute to this phenomenon, as well as to the fact that bisexual women may suffer from worse mental health following these violent episodes, compared to their straight and lesbian counterparts.