Violent Crime Rates in the LGBT population

It isn't all unicorns and rainbows

There is a perception among some people that "alternative lifestyles" and choices of sexuality have no downside and anybody who suggests otherwise is a bigot. Many of the people who scream "BIGOT!" are feelz people and not numbers people.

Here are some numbers

Rate of victims by self-identified gender for selected crimes using "Straight" as the basis (Source). Raw numbers available at the source.

One puzzling thing about this data is the significantly higher rates of violent crimes perpetrated against Bisexuals (sometimes seen as Gay-Lite) than for either Straight or L/Gs. Those higher rates are across-the-board and relatively stable with L/Gs typically being victimized at roughly 2X the rate of Straight people while Bisexuals are victimized at 8X rates. Looking at Rape-Sexual Assault, a person who identifies as Bisexual is 18 times more likely to be a victim of this crime than a straight person and 9 times more likely than a Lesbian/Gay.

One explanation that was proposed for this disparity was that Lesbian/Gay populations might be less likely to report certain crimes, particularly those crimes that might be sexual in nature. If that were a major factor then the rates for Rape/Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence for L/G would be at the bottom of the data rather sort of in the middle.

Another explanation that was proposed was that Bisexuals are less discriminating in their partners (i.e. desperate). As Woody Allen once noted, "Becoming Bisexual automatic doubles your chances of getting a date for Saturday night."

A couple of incidental factors that inflate the numbers for Bisexuals is that 90% of Bisexuals are women and women are more typically chosen as victims than men (less homicides which are often driven by the drug trade). Another factor is that a disproportionate share of women Bisexuals are Black and the Black population is more likely to be victims of violent crime. (Source of claims about demographics of Bisexuals).

Rank Speculation

People on the Autistic spectrum are grossly misrepresented in the population of Transgenders. While it is speculative to assume that people who have impediments to "reading" emotions in other people and decoding social-situation are over-represented across the entire range of LGBT it is not out-of-the-question. 

For example, a person who is adverse to "decoding" would find the stereotype of "All gay men are kind, gentle, sensitive and empathic" (for instance) to be very attractive because it would absolve them of needing to decode individuals. That "permission" to turn off their discernment is very attractive to opportunistic predators. "I am Gay" or "I am Bi" becomes the equivalent of "Open Sesame" to penetrating the layered defenses that protect us.

Uber Progressive label people like me "homophobics" when we try to warn flamboyants that rainbow-hair and nail polish and foppish attire is the equivalent of chumming for sharks at the local beach.