Two percent of gay men bashed per year: study

Dr Thomas Lampinen says the results of a new nine-year study on gaybashings show the youngest members of the queer community run the highest risk of being attacked for their sexual orientation.

According to the study, entitled "Incidence of and Risk Factors for Sexual Orientation-Related Physical Assault Among Young Men Who Have Sex With Men," queers aged 23 and younger were bashed three times more frequently than the other study participants.

"We all know that kids who are thought or perceived to be gay, whether or not they really are, are picked on," says Dr Steffanie Strathdee, senior author of the report, which was released Apr 29.

"Our study shows that the younger somebody is when they come out, the greater at risk they are of being gaybashed."

The data shows those who left the closet before turning 16 were about three times more likely to be bashed than those who came out in their 20s.

This is the first time the rate at which young queer men experience homophobic assault has been measured, Lampinen believes.  See Two percent of gay men bashed per year: study