Battered Immigrant Women Family Violence Prevention Fund provides actual tips for what citizens can do for the battered immigrant women. Although experts estimates that battering as likely to occur in lesbian relationships as in heterosexual relationships, little protection exists for victims of lesbian domestic violence. Victims are often reluctant to report the battering and be identified as lesbians for fear of losing their jobs, families, friends, or children. They also fear that they will not receive appropriate treatment or counseling. Only a few cities, such as San Francisco, New York, Seattle, and Minneapolis, provide counseling services specifically for lesbian batters and victims.
Some judges dismiss charges of same-sex domestic violence.
Even within the lesbian community, there is a reluctance to identify battering as a widespread problem. Household violence is most likely to occur in the evenings and on weekends. Battering is more common in urban areas and in lower income families. Alcohol is often a factor in battering situations. People are more likely to help a woman being attacked by a man than a man being attacked by another man.