Sexual assault of LGBT persons
Sexual assault of LGBT people is a form of violence that occurs within the LGBT community. While sexual assault and other forms of interpersonal violence can occur in all forms of relationships, it is found that sexual minorities experience it at rates that are equal to or higher than their heterosexual counterparts. There is a lack of research on this specific problem for the LGBT population as a whole, but there does exist a substantial amount of research on college LGBT students who have experienced sexual assault and sexual harassment. Definition. There are varying definitions  as to what sexual assault is defined as. According to the United States Department of Justice:The term "sexual assault" means any nonconsensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent.Definitions and laws of sexual assault vary from state to state. The website FindLaw allows users to click on their corresponding to state to read about how their state defines what sexual assault is, as well as what laws and limitations exist. Sexual assault of LGBT individuals refers to the act of sexual violence against persons who identify as lesbian , gay, bisexual, or transgender amongst other sexualities and sexual minorities. Statistics. The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, also known as RAINN, puts out general statistics on sexual assault in the USA, including: According to a 2010 findings on The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey, put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the CDC concluded that: In a paper by Emily Rothman, Deinera Exner, and Allyson Baughman, it was found that, in regard to lifetime sexual assault victimization, the estimated prevalence for lesbian and bisexual women was approximately 12.6 - 85%. For gay and bisexual men , it was 11.8-54.0%. Their paper used data from 75 different studies on lifetime sexual assault victimization in the United States. Underlying issues, myths, and misconceptions. The underlying issues of sexual assault against LGBT persons includes homophobia and transphobia among other forms of prejudice against sexual minorities.