Variations in When Survivors Disclose Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences: An Examination of Sexual and Gender Identity

Abstract

Sexual and gender minority individuals experience higher rates of sexual assault and endure more severe consequences of sexual victimization than their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Sexual and gender minority survivors also face significant barriers to timely disclosure, including stigma and fears of negative reactions from others, which may preclude access to informal and formal support resources. Given this prior research, we investigated differences in the timing of survivors’ disclosures of nonconsensual sexual experiences by sexual and gender identity. We hypothesized that sexual and gender minority survivors would report a longer time interval between their victimization and their first in-person disclosure compared to heterosexual and cisgender survivors. We analyzed data from a sample of sexual assault survivors recruited online through social media (N = 540), all of whom had at least one prior experience of nonconsensual sexual contact and had made at least one in-person disclosure. Disclosure timing was measured on a 5-point, ordinal scale with an inequal interval structure (e.g., within 24 hr, 1 month, 1 year, 10 years, or 10+ years). Results of ordinal logistic regression models supported our hypotheses. Results revealed significant disparities in the timing of sexual assault disclosure among minoritized survivors. Sexual minority survivors reported longer delays in disclosure than heterosexual survivors, and gender minority survivors reported longer delays in disclosure than cisgender survivors. Overall, these results may help explain mixed findings in the literature regarding disclosure rates by sexual and gender identity and highlight a need to address the unique barriers encountered by sexual and gender minority survivors to improve help-seeking behavior and overall outcomes.