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Bisexual victims and survivors’ experiences

Briefing paper on the comparison of bisexual and heterosexual women’s experiences of domestic abuse

This briefing looks at the experiences of domestic abuse survivors who are bisexual women and compares them to those of heterosexual women. It focuses particularly on the types of abuse they experienced and the work done to support them by domestic abuse services.

There has been limited research to date on the experiences of people within this community. And while some progress has been made through research on the experiences of the LGBT+ community as a whole, it is important to understand that different parts of this community can experience abuse in different ways.

  • 3x

    as likely to experience abuse as heterosexual women

    Recent figures suggest bisexual women are almost three times as likely as heterosexual women to experience any form of domestic abuse

  • 50%

    more bisexual women than lesbian women

    Domestic abuse is experienced by over 50% more bisexual women than lesbian women

The majority of bisexual women experience abuse caused by male perpetrators. However, those women who are victims or survivors of female same-sex domestic abuse consider that their abuse isn’t taken seriously by the police.

It’s important we look at this group in greater depth to better understand the abuse they are experiencing so that policies and services are better equipped to support their needs.

This briefing paper uses data from our Insights service to take a more detailed look at the experiences of bisexual victims and survivors of domestic abuse. It covers the period April 2018 to November 2020.

Further research and resources

Mother and son walking and holding hands

SafeLives Insights service

Insights enables domestic abuse services to understand their clients’ needs using reliable evidence, ensuring services provide the right resources to victims, survivors and their families.