For Immediate Release January 29, 2003 Study's Problems Point to Researchers/Practitioners Disconnect and Need for More Study
New York –
Representatives from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) sent a letter to a group of researchers expressing their concern about the efficacy of a study, "Battering Victimization Among a Probability-Based Sample of Men Who Have Sex With Men," released in the American Journal of Public Health, December 2002.
"We're always happy to see researchers looking at the issue of same-sex intimate partner violence," said Rachel Baum, MSW, NCAVP's National Coordinator of Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Programs. "Domestic violence among gay, bisexual and transgender men is a tremendously important public health concern. It has also been largely ignored by researchers, which is why when a study is done it is vital that it be done well and provide the strongest possible findings to support the need for more funding, attention and services in this area.," continued Baum.
"In several key areas, the research was ill-conceived and ill-executed. For instance, the sample was astoundingly lacking in racial diversity; the survey implementation method didn't take the safety of the participants into account, and an analytical comparison to data about heterosexual women had a flawed basis for comparison," said Baum. "The study, which included interviews with men in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco used a sample which was virtually 80% white while the 2000 US census shows that the average percentage of individuals identified as 'white' (non-Latino) in these four cities is almost half of that at 41%, continued Baum."
"We've worked so hard over the years to ensure that our programming, services and data reporting is reflective of our community, and the nation as a whole, and we see the results of that," added Clarence Patton, NCAVP's Acting Executive Director. "In our most recent annual report on intimate partner violence, our data was pretty much on par with Census data on race and ethnicity," said Patton.
"Additionally, it's a tragedy that the publicity about this study has made almost no mention of the places men experiencing abuse from their male partners can turn for help," said Patton. "Clearly, the team had little or no knowledge of existing programs serving lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-affected survivors of intimate partner violence," said Patton. "Michael Relf, one of the lead researchers has said he knows of only seven programs serving gay male victims – While it is true that the options for gay, bisexual and transgender men need to be expanded, there are at least 17 organizations in NCAVP with dedicated programming, and others that are part of mainstream domestic violence programs. It is important that LGBT victims of DV hear about these resources so that they know where to go to find safety," said Patton. "We do have to question how much exploration these researchers did into the issue, or those addressing the issue prior to embarking upon a notably ambitious effort," continued Patton.
"Unfortunately, the shortcomings of this study underscore the need for more of a relationship between researchers and practitioners in this field," added Baum. "While we in the field of LGBT domestic violence services are hungry for scientific data that will help reinforce the weight of this issue, this study only adds more questions and undermines the issue through its faulty construction," said Baum. "We'd really like to work with this group in the future if they plan to do additional research on the issue," concluded Baum.
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