Bisexual people still face widespread problems, including their higher than average risk of being physically and sexually assaulted.
The new report, by the Movement Advancement Project together with BiNetUSA and the Bisexual Resource Center, takes data from a variety of sources including Pew Research’s 2013 “A Survey of LGBT Americans” and the National Survey of Family Growth, to offer insight into how bisexuals compare to both heterosexuals and gay and lesbian people across a number of key talking points such as employment, health and intimate partner violence.
The report finds that bisexual people are more likely to face a number of challenges, disparities and outcomes than their straight, gay or lesbian counterparts. For instance, a quarter of bisexual men and nearly a third of bisexual women (30%) live in poverty. Compare that to heterosexual men (15%) and women (21%), or gay men (20%) or lesbians (23%) and we begin to see a troubling gap. That poverty obviously has a negative effect on their health, their future employment opportunities, housing and food security, and more.
Speaking of employment, bisexuals seem to suffer roughly the same levels of employment discrimination as gay and lesbian people, but almost 60 percent of bisexuals report hearing negative comments about their sexuality while on the job. As a result, bisexual people are nearly half as likely to come out to their coworkers when compared to gay and lesbian people. This could lead to higher work stress, which may prevent bisexuals advancing as far in the workplace, and may be detrimental to their overall mental and physical health.
Employment isn’t the only area in which bisexuals are worse off. Briefly, the report notes that bisexual people are statistically much more likely to be victim to a hate crime than their gay and lesbian counterparts. At the same time, though, bisexuals are about three times more likely to experience police violence when reporting such, or any, crimes.
Bisexuals are also far more likely to experience intimate partner violence, with bisexual women at particular risk. Bisexual victims often tend to be younger than the average as well, with the majority of bisexual victims of rape having been assaulted between the ages of 11 and 24.
The report also finds wide disparities when it comes to the health of bisexual people. At this juncture, it’s helpful to note that until relatively recently there hasn’t been much data collected on bisexuals, and that’s particularly true when it comes to assessing bisexuals and their medical histories. As such, it may be that some of these figures ultimately end up being revised, but as a snapshot they are a wake-up call.
Bisexuals seem to suffer poorer physical and mental health than straight people or gay or lesbian people. They are more likely to suffer hypertension, appear more likely to be affected by cancers and in terms of mental health are more likely to suffer things like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. They are also slightly more likely to smoke, engage in risky drinking behavior and substance abuse.
In addition, bisexual men are about 6.3 times more likely to consider suicide than straight men, and slightly more than gay men who are 4.1 times more likely to consider suicide compared to their straight counterparts. Interestingly, suicidal ideation tends to tail off as people move from adolescence into adulthood, but the report notes that recent studies show this isn’t the case for bisexual teens.
Why these health disparities exist is particularly interesting, and it may be down to a couple of key factors, including that bisexual people are far less likely to to be out to their health care providers, meaning that they might miss vital opportunities and screenings that could have caught conditions like cancers or mental health problems far sooner.
Some of these problems might also be put down to the fact of erasure, that is to say bisexual people are often defined not by their actual sexuality but by the gender of whatever partner they are with at the time, sticking them into either the gay or straight category when bisexual people have particular needs and vulnerabilities.
“Despite comprising the largest population within the LGBT community, bisexual people are among the most invisible,” Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, is quoted as saying. “The failure to account for bisexual lives and experiences compounds a lack of social support and keeps bisexual people in the closet.”
The report calls for more concerted efforts to promote bisexual visibility, something that LGBT rights groups in particular can help with, as well as calling on the government and medial agencies to continue and increase tracking for this at-risk group. –Care2
The new report, by the Movement Advancement Project together with BiNetUSA and the Bisexual Resource Center, takes data from a variety of sources including Pew Research’s 2013 “A Survey of LGBT Americans” and the National Survey of Family Growth, to offer insight into how bisexuals compare to both heterosexuals and gay and lesbian people across a number of key talking points such as employment, health and intimate partner violence.
The report finds that bisexual people are more likely to face a number of challenges, disparities and outcomes than their straight, gay or lesbian counterparts. For instance, a quarter of bisexual men and nearly a third of bisexual women (30%) live in poverty. Compare that to heterosexual men (15%) and women (21%), or gay men (20%) or lesbians (23%) and we begin to see a troubling gap. That poverty obviously has a negative effect on their health, their future employment opportunities, housing and food security, and more.
Speaking of employment, bisexuals seem to suffer roughly the same levels of employment discrimination as gay and lesbian people, but almost 60 percent of bisexuals report hearing negative comments about their sexuality while on the job. As a result, bisexual people are nearly half as likely to come out to their coworkers when compared to gay and lesbian people. This could lead to higher work stress, which may prevent bisexuals advancing as far in the workplace, and may be detrimental to their overall mental and physical health.
Employment isn’t the only area in which bisexuals are worse off. Briefly, the report notes that bisexual people are statistically much more likely to be victim to a hate crime than their gay and lesbian counterparts. At the same time, though, bisexuals are about three times more likely to experience police violence when reporting such, or any, crimes.
Bisexuals are also far more likely to experience intimate partner violence, with bisexual women at particular risk. Bisexual victims often tend to be younger than the average as well, with the majority of bisexual victims of rape having been assaulted between the ages of 11 and 24.
The report also finds wide disparities when it comes to the health of bisexual people. At this juncture, it’s helpful to note that until relatively recently there hasn’t been much data collected on bisexuals, and that’s particularly true when it comes to assessing bisexuals and their medical histories. As such, it may be that some of these figures ultimately end up being revised, but as a snapshot they are a wake-up call.
Bisexuals seem to suffer poorer physical and mental health than straight people or gay or lesbian people. They are more likely to suffer hypertension, appear more likely to be affected by cancers and in terms of mental health are more likely to suffer things like depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. They are also slightly more likely to smoke, engage in risky drinking behavior and substance abuse.
In addition, bisexual men are about 6.3 times more likely to consider suicide than straight men, and slightly more than gay men who are 4.1 times more likely to consider suicide compared to their straight counterparts. Interestingly, suicidal ideation tends to tail off as people move from adolescence into adulthood, but the report notes that recent studies show this isn’t the case for bisexual teens.
Why these health disparities exist is particularly interesting, and it may be down to a couple of key factors, including that bisexual people are far less likely to to be out to their health care providers, meaning that they might miss vital opportunities and screenings that could have caught conditions like cancers or mental health problems far sooner.
Some of these problems might also be put down to the fact of erasure, that is to say bisexual people are often defined not by their actual sexuality but by the gender of whatever partner they are with at the time, sticking them into either the gay or straight category when bisexual people have particular needs and vulnerabilities.
“Despite comprising the largest population within the LGBT community, bisexual people are among the most invisible,” Ineke Mushovic, executive director of the Movement Advancement Project, is quoted as saying. “The failure to account for bisexual lives and experiences compounds a lack of social support and keeps bisexual people in the closet.”
The report calls for more concerted efforts to promote bisexual visibility, something that LGBT rights groups in particular can help with, as well as calling on the government and medial agencies to continue and increase tracking for this at-risk group. –Care2
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