Intimate Partner Violence within same sex couples: a qualitative review of literature in a psychodynamic perspective

The intimate partner violence (IPV), particularly the same-sex one, is assuming the size of a serious and not negligible issue that afflicts current society. The main objective of this literature review was to analyze the studies and theoretical perspectives on this issue, adopting a psychodynamic point of view that allows to underline the extent of the problem. PsychInfo and PsychARTICLES database were searched, using the keywords  “same-sex domestic violence", "same-sex intimate partner violence", “same-sex domestic violence”, “homosexual domestic violence” e “homosexual intimate partner violence” in order to identifying literature published from 2000 to 2018, the extracted documents were assessed for their qualitative relevance.The results concerning the violence among lesbian couples underlying a lack in the literature and the influence of feminist movements, heterosexist theories, stereotypes and homophobia. Regarding the violence between gay couples, the "novelty" of the issue emerges and the interest in the peculiarity of the victims and the harassers, the minority stress and the controversial relationship with the legal system. Finally, a comparison between IPV in lesbian and gay couples makes it clear that, beyond similarities and differences, every situation deserves the most specific and targeted treatment.</p

Intimate Partner Violence within same sex couples: a qualitative review of the literature from a psychodynamic perspective

International audienceIntimate partner violence (IPV), particularly within same-sex couples, is assuming the size of a serious and hardly negligible issue that afflicts current society. The main objective of the present review of the literature was to analyze the studies and theoretical perspectives on this issue, adopting a psychodynam-ic point of view that allows for underlining the extent of the problem. PsychInfo and PsychARTICLES databases were searched, using the keywords "same-sex domestic violence", "same-sex intimate partner violence", "homosexual domestic violence" and "homosexual intimate partner violence" in order to identifying literature published between 2000 and 2018. The extracted documents were then assessed for their qualitative relevance. The results concerning violence within lesbian couples underlined a gap in the literature, along with the influence of feminist movements, heterosexist theories, stereotypes, and homophobia. Regarding the violence within gay couples, the "novelty" of the issue emerged, along with the interest in the peculiarity of the victims and the harassers, the minority stress, and the controversial relationship with the legal system. Finally, a comparison between IPV in lesbian and gay couples makes it clear that, beyond similarities and differences, every situation deserves highly specific and targeted treatment