By John Mack Freeman
Two new reports were released this week that specifically sought information about bisexual people in America. The results about violence, discrimination, and challenges were not encouraging.
The first report is entitled “Understanding Issues Facing Bisexual Americans” was released by the Movement Advancement Project, an independent think tank focusing on LGBT issues, in conjunction with Bi Resource Center and BiNet USA for Bisexual Awareness Week. The report found that bisexual people were statistically more likely to be in poverty than straight people, gay men, or lesbians. It also found that bisexuals were more likely to be closeted at work and that they experienced more partner violence gay men or lesbians. The entire report is well worth a read, and it can be found here.
The second report was released by the HRC entitled “Supporting and Caring for Our Bisexual Youth.” Some of the findings of the study included (via the HRC blog):
- Only five percent of bisexual youth reported being “very happy,†compared to 21 percent of non-LGBT youth surveyed separately to provide a point of comparison.
- Nearly a third of bisexual young people said they had been “frequently or often†harassed or called names at school, compared to nine percent of non-LGBT youth who reported similar mistreatment.
- When asked if they have an adult family member they can turn to, 44 percent of bisexual youth said they did, compared to 79 percent of non-LGBT youth who reported having a supportive adult at home.
