It’s a betrayal we suffer when our traumatic experience of sexual assault isn’t validated by those we trust the most to protect us. This may lead us to ask: Are there some who suffer from this kind of “institutional betrayal” more than others? University of Oregon psychology student Sarah Cunningham would definitely say so, and the disparities may have to do with our sexual orientation.
Cunningham, along with graduate adviser Carly Smith and faculty adviser Jennifer Freyd, led a study in which they surveyed 299 UO students. These students were asked to self-report whether they were victims of sexual assault, whether they had been betrayed by an institution and whether they identified as part of the LGBT community. Of the students they surveyed, 29 were self-identified members of the LGBT community. The results that came after were surprising.
Cunningham and her team saw that across the map, those part of the LGBT community suffered more than heterosexuals — not only from sexual assault, but from institutional betrayal as well. Probably as a result, they also suffered more psychological damage — such as depression, anxiety and other psychological implications.
“I was curious to see if there was a difference between LGBT students and heterosexual students when it came to sexual assault,” said Cunningham. “And we found there is. It really brought the problem of institutional betrayal in the LGBT community in particular out into the open.”
And there’s more research out there that backs up Cunningham’s data. According to a recent study by Boynton Health Services and Center for Disease Control, one in two bisexual women will be raped in her lifetime, while 64 percent of transgender individuals have experienced rape at least once before. It’s clear, yet startling. There is a higher percentage of victims in the LGBT community than in any other.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted every two minutes. Only 46 percent of these cases will be reported.
This lack of reporting is due in part to the fact that many cases don’t lead to an arrest and prosecution of the perpetrator, even when reported. And when higher-ups don’t take sexual assault seriously, whether they are officials of a university or police department, it’s likely we’ll experience betrayal for the second time.
Even more startling is the fact that many of these cases are never reported or are not taken seriously even when they are.
“There needs to be more institutional intervention to educate officials how to be supportive of survivors,” Cunningham said. “Some are just unfamiliar with how they should react in situations like these. I hope this study can get published some day and help bring awareness to this important issue of sexual assault and institutional betrayal in the LGBT community — and beyond.”