The ALOHA Study: Intimate Partner Violence in Hawai'i's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describes intimate partner violence (IPV) as a serious, preventable problem. The ALOHA (Assessing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender [LGBT] Violence in Hawai'i) Study examines IPV in Hawai'i's LGBT community. The study's primary outcome is to determine the prevalence of IPV in Hawai'i's LGBT community, and secondary outcomes are to determine the prevalence of help-seeking behavior, associations between IPV and demographics, and associations between help-seeking behavior and demographics. This cross-sectional study included 477 subjects who self-identified as Hawai'i residents and LGBT. The percentages of overall IPV, physical IPV, and sexual IPV were 68.8%, 54.1%, and 49.3%, respectively. Blacks were most likely to report a history of physical IPV (OR=4.93, 95%CI: 1.95-12.47). Blacks (OR=2.49, 95%CI: 1.13-5.74), Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders (OR=2.14, 95%CI: 1.30-3.52), and cisgender females (OR=2.27, 95%CI: 1.29-3.45) were more likely to report a history of sexual IPV than other groups. Among victims of physical and sexual IPV, 9.9% and 9.6% sought help, respectively, and transgender and gender non-conforming individuals were the most likely to seek help (physical IPV: 30.8%, sexual IPV: 28.6%). Hawai'i's LGBT community has an extremely high prevalence of IPV and a very low prevalence of help-seeking behavior. This translates into a large number of victims who are left without support. Additional research is needed to fully understand the details of IPV within Hawai'i's LGBT community and the barriers to help-seeking so that potential solutions may be identified.