UC San Diego

Bullying of sexual minorities in the United States is common and often begins in middle and high school, yet research that examines sexual harassment of sexual minorities is limited. This study examines whether sexual minorities are more likely than straight people to (a) report sexual harassment and (b) report sexual harassment as adolescents at middle or high school. We analyzed survey data from a cross-sectional study of sexual harassment and assault, conducted with nationally representative samples of adults in 2019 (N = 2,205). Sexual harassment was categorized as non-physically aggressive sexual harassment only (NPSH; e.g., verbal or cyber harassment), physically aggressive sexual harassment (PSH; e.g., stalking, rubbing up against you; with or without NPSH), sexual assault (SA; i.e., forced sex; with or without NPSH or PSH), or no sexual harassment (none). In total, 6% of female and male respondents identified as a sexual minority. A history of sexual harassment or assault was reported by 95.0% of sexual minority women and 80.3% of straight women (p = .001), and by 77.3% of sexual minority men and 41.3% of straight men (p = .001). Multivariable multinomial models demonstrate that sexual minorities were more likely than straight individuals to report NPSH (Adjusted Odds Ratio [AOR] = 2.88, 95% [Confidence Interval] CI = [1.33, 6.20]), PSH (AOR = 4.15, 95% CI: [1.77, 9.77]), and SA (AOR = 5.48, 95% CI = [2.56, 11.73]; reference group: no harassment), as well as to report PSH (AOR = 2.67, 95% CI = [1.30, 5.47]) at school in middle or high school. These abuses demonstrate increased risk for sexual harassment among sexual minorities, including increased risk for physically aggressive sexual harassment when in middle and high school.