ween the ages of 30-44, 21 percent were 23-29, 12 percent were 45-64, and five percent were either under age 22 or over age 65 (Garbo). Based on this it appears that no one in the gay community is safe from the threat of domestic violence.Since this seems to be such a significant problem then it seems strange that we don’t hear more about it on the news or in our own communities. There is a great deal of speculation as to why these cases go unreported. According to an article in the July 14, 1995 edition of the online Jewish Bulletin of Northern California the gay community resists confronting abuse among its own members. They already face so many problems such as HIV and discrimination that publicizing the abuse would be like “airing dirty laundry”. (Lank)Another important reason these situations are not being reported is due to fear of the police and the courts. One example of this involved an employee of the New York City Housing Authority, Kathy Muniz who says her reports were not taken seriously. She says she was told by police that tomorrow she and her partner would ‘Kiss and make up’. She eventually got a restraining order against her partner (Leland).It is important to consider the reasons that police may have difficulty dealing with the cases. It can be difficult for them to know who is the aggressor and who is the victim. Executive Director Connie Burk of the Northwest Network of the Bisexual, Trans and Lesbian Survivors of Abuse in Seattle estimates that often 75 percent of the victims are arrested sometimes along with their abusers (Leland). Taking all of these things into considersation it is difficult to begin to address solving this problem. Perhaps the first step is to break the silence. For years neither the homosexual nor the heterosexual community has wanted to discuss this issue. This was proven in 1995 when a forum on the subject was organized by the Gay Men’s Domestic Violence ...
