SPEAKING THE UNSPOKEN: ABUSE AND HELP SEEKING EXPERIENCES OF BISEXUAL YOUNG WOMEN IN AN INTIMATE RELATIONSHIP WITH A MAN

Binegativity is a term used to refer to the negative stereotypes attributed to bisexual people. Examples include promiscuity, attention seeking, and/or going through a phase. Despite the success of the LGBTQ+ movement in improving social equality for gay and lesbian individuals, bisexual negative stereotypes and stigma are prevalent in both heterosexual and LGBTQ+ communities. They are problematic because they erase bisexual identities, rendering bisexual people voiceless, feeling rejected and alone in their experiences. This isolation impacts the magnitude of the social problems that this group disproportionally face.

Indeed, figures in Aotearoa New Zealand and worldwide indicate that intimate partner abuse (IPA) is more prevalent amongst bisexual women and young people in comparison to any other sexual orientation, age or gender. The limited research with bisexual women shows that bi-erasure and young age impacts women’s experiences of IPA from a male intimate partner and their help seeking behaviour. However, the mechanisms involved are not understood by society or support services, and require further research. This qualitative study aimed to address this gap by exploring the role of bisexuality and young age on the abuse and helpseeking experiences of six bisexual young women who were in an intimate relationship with a man. The transcripts of six semi-structured interviews with women were analysed. All identified as bisexual and were aged between 15 to 20 years when they first entered into an intimate relationship with their male partner. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPAN) was used to understand how the women made sense and meaning of their experiences, as interpreted by the current researcher. Four themes were identified: 1) Developing Relationship IQ; 2) Progression of Control and Abuse; 3) Unspoken Bisexuality; and 4) Help Seeking Barriers. Collectively, the themes encapsulate the unspoken nature of bisexuality and bi-erasure in society showing how it exacerbates control and abuse in IPA, and adding further barriers to helpseeking for bisexual people. Furthermore, it is clear that young people’s knowledge of IPA and available support services impacts their ability to helpseek, as does the lack of understanding of bisexuality by services and service workers.

Findings suggest an urgent need for policy and practice to implement robust relationship education in schools and for research to further explore the role of bisexuality in IPA, drawing out bisexuality from under the LGBTQ+ umbrella.

“I call myself bisexual because I acknowledge that I have in myself the potential to be attracted romantically and/or sexually to people of more than one sex and/or gender not necessarily at the same time not necessarily in the same way and not necessarily to the same degree” – Robyn Ochs