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In research with 942 nonclinical adult participants, gay men and lesbian women reported a significantly higher rate of childhood molestation than did heterosexual men and women. Forty-six percent of the homosexual men in contrast to 7% of the heterosexual men reported homosexual molestation. Twenty-two percent of lesbian women in contrast to I % of heterosexual women reported homosexual molestation. This research is apparently the first survey that has reported substantial homosexual molestation of girls. Suggestions for future research were offered.
KEY WORDS: childhood molestation; adult sexual orientation; female pedophiles.
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this study was to determine and compare the incidence of childhood molestation of homosexual and heterosexual adults. The previous literature suggests that a history of childhood molestation may be more common in homosexual men and women than in their heterosexual counterparts.
Bradford et al. (1994) reported that 25% of 1,925 lesbians surveyed had been sexually abused or raped as children. They said that 31% of the perpetrators were male relatives, 45% other known men, 45% male strangers, and 1% women (it is not known why this totaled 122%).
In interviewing with 35 lesbian women in alcoholic recovery, 16 (46%) revealed sexual abuse, even though they were not asked about sexual abuse (Hall, 1996). The onset of the molestation ranged from <4 years to 12 years, with 10 of the women being younger than 7 years at the time of molestation. Fourteen of the 16 women were molested only by men. One was molested by multiple intrafamilial males and one extrafamilial female. Another was molested by her father and by one extrafamilial female.
Simari and Baskin (1982) determined the extent of incestuous experiences in 54 gay men and 29 gay women. Twenty-five (46%) of the gay men reported experiencing incest, all of the homosexual sort, between 9 and 16 years of age with a mean age of 13 years. Twenty-four (96%) of the 25 men who experienced incest viewed themselves as homosexual before the incest. Eleven (38%) of the 29 gay women reported experiencing incest, heterosexual in seven (64%) of the cases, with two (29%) of these women regarding themselves as homosexual before the incest. Four (36%) of the 11 women experienced homosexual incest, with 3 (25%) of them regarding themselves...