Gitnux/Report 2026

Lesbian Abuse Statistics

One in 4 lesbian women report physical violence from an intimate partner, and nearly 1 in 5 experience some form of violence from a partner, while 25% of bisexual women report intimate partner violence in their lifetime. This page tracks how abuse also takes coercive, stalking, and digital forms and how barriers such as fear, discrimination, and lack of tailored services shape whether survivors get help, even as the estimated global cost reaches $1.5 trillion each year.
103Statistics
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June 22, 2026Updated
Lesbian Abuse Statistics
Aisha OkonkwoWritten by Aisha Okonkwo·Edited by Rachel Svensson·Fact-checked by Rajesh Patel
Published ·Updated
How this report is researched
01Editorial Scope

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02Source Research

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25.8 percent of lesbians report rape, sexual coercion, or forced penetration. 20.7 percent report being stalked. 29 percent report psychological aggression by a partner.

Key Takeaways

  • 25.8% of lesbians reported having experienced rape, being made to penetrate, or sexual coercion
  • 7.1% of lesbians reported having experienced sexual violence involving a weapon
  • 20.7% of lesbians reported being stalked
  • 14.5% of lesbians reported experiencing coercive control (emotional abuse) by an intimate partner
  • 12.9% of lesbians reported experiencing intimate partner violence involving threats
  • 8.2% of lesbians reported experiencing intimate partner violence involving stalking
  • 10% of lesbian women reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime
  • 2.5% of lesbian women reported experiencing sexual coercion by an intimate partner in the past 12 months
  • 20.3% of lesbians reported experiencing non-partner sexual violence
  • 38% of lesbian and bisexual women reported at least one barrier to getting help for IPV
  • 19% of lesbian and bisexual survivors reported fear of being judged by service providers
  • 16% of lesbian and bisexual survivors reported fear that their identity would not be respected
  • 31% of IPV survivors reported PTSD symptoms (meta-analysis estimate)
  • 14% of IPV survivors reported substance misuse problems after abuse (meta-analysis estimate)
  • 35% of IPV survivors reported depression symptoms

Nearly a quarter of lesbians experience intimate partner violence, with significant rates of sexual violence and stalking.

Related reading

01 · Category

Lgbtq+ Victimization10 stats

01
25.8% of lesbians reported having experienced rape, being made to penetrate, or sexual coercionhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
02
7.1% of lesbians reported having experienced sexual violence involving a weaponhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
03
20.7% of lesbians reported being stalkedhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
04
24.8% of lesbians reported experiencing physical violence at the hands of an intimate partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
05
7.4% of lesbians reported experiencing intimate partner violence in the past 12 monthshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
06
19.4% of lesbians reported experiencing at least one form of violence (physical, sexual, stalking) from a partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
07
14.8% of lesbians reported experiencing stalking in their lifetimehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
08
22% of lesbian women and 25% of bisexual women reported intimate partner violence (lifetime) in a U.S. population studyhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
09
18% of LGBT survivors reported that abuse started or escalated after they came out (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
10
14% of lesbian survivors reported their partner threatened to reveal their sexual orientation (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
Interpretation

Lgbtq+ Victimization Interpretation

Nearly a quarter of lesbians, 25.8%, report rape, sexual coercion, or being made to penetrate, and around one in five, 20.7%, report being stalked, showing that sexual and stalking-related abuse are both alarmingly common.

02 · Category

Intimate Partner Violence30 stats

01
14.5% of lesbians reported experiencing coercive control (emotional abuse) by an intimate partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
02
12.9% of lesbians reported experiencing intimate partner violence involving threatshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
03
8.2% of lesbians reported experiencing intimate partner violence involving stalkinghttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
04
16.6% of lesbians reported experiencing intimate partner violence involving physical injuryhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
05
3.8% of lesbians reported being forced to have sexual intercourse by an intimate partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
06
6.4% of lesbian women reported experiencing physical violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 monthshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
07
3.9% of lesbian women reported experiencing threats by an intimate partner in the past 12 monthshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
08
11.5% of lesbian women reported experiencing emotional abuse by an intimate partner in the past 12 monthshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
09
22.2% of lesbians reported being threatened with harmhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
10
29.0% of lesbian women reported experiencing psychological aggression by a partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
11
6.7% of lesbian women reported being afraid of a partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
12
9.2% of lesbians reported that their partner monitored or tracked themhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
13
34% of lesbian and bisexual women reported emotional violence by a partner (lifetime)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
14
24% of lesbians and 28% of bisexual women reported physical violence by a partner (lifetime)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
15
11% of lesbian and 14% of bisexual women reported stalking by a partner (lifetime)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
16
40% of LGBT survivors reported that their partner threatened them with deportation, custody, or legal consequences (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
17
15% of LGBT survivors reported threats to “out” them as a tactic of abuse (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
18
23% of LGBT survivors reported controlling their access to social support or friends (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
19
31% of LGBT survivors reported partners used social media to monitor or harass (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
20
9% of LGBT survivors reported digital abuse that included nonconsensual sharing of intimate images (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
21
14% of LGBT survivors reported that their partner controlled or confiscated their phone/computer (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
22
21% of lesbian and bisexual women reported partner jealousy related to dating or socializing (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
23
27% of lesbian and bisexual women reported that their partner used intimidation tactics (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
24
13% of lesbian and bisexual women reported physical violence with injury (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
25
25% of lesbians reported coercion tactics (emotional or verbal) by partners (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
26
12% of lesbians reported experiencing cyberstalking in the past year (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
27
7% of lesbians reported nonconsensual image sharing by a partner (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
28
10% of lesbians reported harassment via calls/texts by a partner in the past year (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
29
5% of lesbians reported physical stalking by a partner in the past year (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
30
26% of LGBT survivors reported using safety planning due to fear of retaliation (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
Interpretation

Intimate Partner Violence Interpretation

Across the data, psychological and emotional abuse is especially widespread, with 29.0% of lesbian women reporting psychological aggression by a partner and 11.5% reporting emotional abuse within the past 12 months.

03 · Category

Sexual Violence9 stats

01
10% of lesbian women reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetimehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
02
2.5% of lesbian women reported experiencing sexual coercion by an intimate partner in the past 12 monthshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
03
20.3% of lesbians reported experiencing non-partner sexual violencehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
04
2.9% of lesbian women reported being raped or made to penetrate by a partner in the past 12 monthshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
05
8.6% of lesbian women reported experiencing sexual violence by a partner that involved physical force in their lifetimehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
06
5.1% of lesbians reported being coerced into sex by a partnerhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4405424/
07
16% of lesbian and 18% of bisexual women reported sexual violence by a partner (lifetime)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
08
8% of lesbian and bisexual women reported forced sex in their lifetime (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
09
6% of lesbian and bisexual women reported forced sex in the past year (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
Interpretation

Sexual Violence Interpretation

Sexual violence affects a substantial share of lesbian women, with 10% reporting sexual violence in their lifetime and 2.9% reporting rape or being made to penetrate by a partner in the past 12 months.

More related reading

04 · Category

Access And Barriers30 stats

01
38% of lesbian and bisexual women reported at least one barrier to getting help for IPVhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
02
19% of lesbian and bisexual survivors reported fear of being judged by service providershttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
03
16% of lesbian and bisexual survivors reported fear that their identity would not be respectedhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
04
11% of LGBT survivors reported that police responded poorly when they sought help for IPVhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
05
24% of lesbian survivors reported they did not report IPV because they feared their partner would retaliatehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
06
30% of lesbian survivors reported a lack of services tailored to sexual orientationhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
07
28% of LGBT survivors reported they were discouraged from reporting to police due to biashttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
08
43% of LGBT survivors reported they had experienced some form of discrimination when seeking helphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
09
39% of LGBT survivors reported that confidentiality concerns affected their willingness to seek serviceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
10
6% of LGBT survivors reported that their partner used the system (courts/services) to further abusehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
11
34% of LGBT survivors reported they delayed seeking help for a month or longer after the abuse startedhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
12
23% of lesbian survivors reported that help-seeking was complicated by lack of recognition of same-sex partner violencehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
13
18% of LGBT survivors reported being turned away from serviceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
14
12% of LGBT survivors reported being asked inappropriate questions about their orientation when seeking helphttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
15
9% of LGBT survivors reported that shelter rules created barriers to staying safehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
16
53% of survivors reported they needed legal assistance but did not receive it (U.S. survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
17
37% of survivors reported needing transportation to attend services, but it was not availablehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
18
24% of survivors reported needing childcare to access serviceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
19
8% of survivors reported needing interpreter services but did not receive themhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
20
16% of LGBT survivors reported that noninclusive intake forms made them avoid serviceshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6134100/
21
19% of lesbian survivors reported that they did not access IPV-specific medical care due to provider biashttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
22
11% of lesbian survivors reported not receiving appropriate referrals from clinicianshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
23
28% of lesbian survivors reported inadequate safety planning supporthttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
24
14% of lesbian survivors reported fear of discrimination prevented accessing crisis hotlineshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
25
20% of LGBT adults reported being treated unfairly when seeking healthcare (U.S. estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
26
18% of LGBT adults reported avoiding healthcare due to fear of discrimination (U.S. estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
27
33% of survivors reported police did not take their complaints seriously (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
28
25% of lesbian survivors reported that law enforcement lacked training to handle same-sex IPVhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
29
12% of lesbian survivors reported that family or community stigma prevented reporting (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
30
10% of lesbian survivors reported fear of losing custody of children due to IPV reporting barriers (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6197736/
Interpretation

Access And Barriers Interpretation

Across these statistics, nearly half of LGBT and lesbian survivors faced serious barriers to getting help, with 43% reporting discrimination and 39% saying confidentiality concerns affected their willingness to seek services.

05 · Category

Health And Economic Impact10 stats

01
31% of IPV survivors reported PTSD symptoms (meta-analysis estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
02
14% of IPV survivors reported substance misuse problems after abuse (meta-analysis estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
03
35% of IPV survivors reported depression symptomshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
04
26% of IPV survivors reported anxiety symptomshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
05
23% of IPV survivors reported injuries requiring medical care (study estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
06
16% of IPV survivors reported chronic pain after abuse (study estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
07
11% of IPV survivors reported gastrointestinal symptoms related to stress (study estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3716476/
08
31% of lesbian and bisexual women reported that abuse affected their mental health (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
09
17% of lesbian and bisexual women reported that abuse affected employment or education (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
10
9% of lesbian and bisexual women reported experiencing homelessness related to IPV (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
Interpretation

Health And Economic Impact Interpretation

Across these estimates, mental health impacts are especially prominent with 31% reporting PTSD symptoms and 35% depression symptoms among IPV survivors, while physical and related health consequences also appear though less frequently, such as 23% reporting injuries needing medical care and 16% chronic pain.

06 · Category

Economic Impact14 stats

01
$1.5 trillion estimated global economic cost of IPV per year (WHO estimate, model-based)https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/349794/9789240029940-eng.pdf
02
US$5,000average annual out-of-pocket costs for IPV-related health services (study estimate)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789662
03
US$1,000average productivity loss per worker affected by IPV (study estimate)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2789662
04
30% of IPV survivors reported missing work due to abuse (U.S. survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
05
19% of IPV survivors reported losing employment due to abuse (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
06
13% of IPV survivors reported that abuse affected their ability to find housinghttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
07
24% of IPV survivors reported financial problems related to abusehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4132563/
08
19% of IPV survivors reported that their partner used economic abuse (e.g., controlling money)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
09
28% of LGBT survivors reported financial barriers prevented leaving an abusive relationship (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
10
18% of LGBT survivors reported legal costs or access to legal aid as a barrierhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
11
7% of LGBT survivors reported lack of health insurance as a barrier to seeking carehttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
12
22% of LGBT survivors reported not having enough money for safe housinghttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875609/
13
23% of lesbian and bisexual women reported needing economic support services after IPV (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
14
18% of lesbian and bisexual women reported needing legal assistance after IPV (survey estimate)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4994645/
Interpretation

Economic Impact Interpretation

Across these estimates, the economic fallout is so severe that women experiencing IPV face about US$5,000 in out-of-pocket healthcare costs and up to 30% report missing work due to abuse, while among LGBT survivors as many as 28% cite financial barriers as the reason they cannot leave.
Reference

Cite This Report

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APA
Aisha Okonkwo. (2026, February 13). Lesbian Abuse Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lesbian-abuse-statistics
MLA
Aisha Okonkwo. "Lesbian Abuse Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/lesbian-abuse-statistics.
Chicago
Aisha Okonkwo. 2026. "Lesbian Abuse Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/lesbian-abuse-statistics.

Sources & references

9 datasets cited across this report

ncbi.nlm.nih.govapps.who.intjamanetwork.com

+6 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)