In September, Pennsylvania State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R – Butler) temporarily derailed a resolution in his state’s legislature to recognize the month of October as “Domestic Violence Awareness Month” in the Keystone State.

His reasons?

According to Metcalfe, the resolution supported a “homosexual agenda” because of language in the resolution that mentions that “one in every four women and one in every nine men will experience domestic violence,” and that “one in six women and one in 33 men have experienced an attempted or completed rape.”

Metcalf later told the Philadelphia Inquirer that the resolution “had language woven through it that brought men into the situation,” and that he doesn’t “support the resolution or funding for groups that go beyond helping women.”

Few people would argue that domestic violence against women isn’t a serious problem. However, we need to fully acknowledge that victims can be anyone (men, women, straight, gay, children, elderly, and pets).

Last year, an estimated 1.5 million women in the U.S. were victims of domestic violence by an intimate partner. Every 20.9 seconds, somewhere in America a woman is battered. Six children in every classroom witness domestic violence and four of these six children are direct victims of abuse and/or neglect.

In 2008, San Diego County had close to 17,000 reported incidents of domestic violence and 14 known domestic violence-related deaths, according to SANDAG and the San Diego County Domestic Violence Fatality Review Team.

Metcalfe’s actions sent a dangerous message that overlooks a sobering reality: 835,000 men – straight and gay – were domestic violence victims in the U.S. last year, too. It means that every 37.8 seconds, somewhere in America a man is battered.

Sadly, ignorance about same-sex domestic violence is widespread. Most people don’t know that GLBT couples experience domestic violence at about the same rates as their straight counterparts.

Between 25 and 33 percent of gays are victimized by an intimate partner – rates that are consistent with estimates of heterosexual relationship violence, according to statistics compiled by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, a leading advocacy group that reports annually on domestic violence trends in the U.S.

If you apply these rates to the latest census data, one can estimate that more than 215,000 of California’s GLBT residents and as many as 60,000 of San Diego County’s GLBT community may be experiencing intimate partner abuse.

By this measuring stick, the GLBT community has actually achieved a sad form of equality with straight people.

Unfortunately, when it comes to assisting victims of same-sex domestic violence, equality appears no where in sight.

The truth is that straight or gay, most victims suffer behind closed doors and in a shadow of isolation created or sustained by their abusers. This shadow can be twice as dark for GLBT victims of domestic violence.

Some researchers have compared same-sex intimate partner violence to coming out of a “double closet.”

According to several studies conducted over the last 20 years, victims in the GLBT community are often even more isolated and underserved than their straight counterparts due to legal bias, sexism, and homophobia.

In addition to the typical stigma associated with abusive relationships, GLBT victims of domestic violence are already dealing with the reality of living within a community that is smaller and more isolated.

GLBT victims have added vulnerabilities that can be exploited by an abuser. Perpetrators often threaten to “out” the victim to friends, family and coworkers. In some cases they threaten to make reports to authorities that might jeopardize a victim’s child-custody, immigration, or legal status.

Services for GLBT victims make the picture even bleaker. First Responders often lack training or experience in dealing with same-sex domestic violence cases – particularly those involving transgender people. In some cases, such ignorance has resulted in transgender victims being thrown into the same jail cell with their abusers, according to the New York Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexual Domestic Violence Report 2003/2004.

In many states, laws are written to protect legally married spouses to such a degree that a felony criminal charge is needed before an unmarried battery victim can obtain a protective order.

To further complicate matters, alcohol and drug abuse affects an estimated 20 to 30 percent of the gay and lesbian population – a rate that is two to three times higher than the general population, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

And while alcohol and drugs don’t cause abuse, health and safety experts know they contribute to its frequency and severity.

Facts like these (and Rep. Metcalfe’s sorry demonstration of logic and common sense) remind us how important it is to fight for equal services for GLBT victims of domestic violence.

And now that California has cut funding to 94 domestic violence shelters by approximately 30 percent, while San Diego County has seen a 40 percent increase in domestic violence related deaths – as of June of this year compared to the same time period last year - the fight against domestic violence in all communities is even more essential.

The GLBT community could benefit from a strategic action plan incorporating the following:

Factual community education campaigns that increase public understanding of domestic violence prevalence and challenges within the GLBT community.

Increasing awareness of how alcohol and other drugs exacerbate domestic violence incidents, and achieving community changes reducing their availability and misuse.

Advocacy of policy changes at government levels necessary to insure equal legal protection for same-sex partners being subjected to domestic violence.

Assuring that First Responder training includes sensitivity to same-sex domestic violence cases.

Advocacy of sufficient and equitable support services for GLBT victims of domestic violence.

• All victims of domestic violence should call 9-1-1 in case of an emergency.

• San Diego Domestic Violence Hotline: 888-DV-LINKS (888-385-4657). Staff is on call 24 hours-per-day / 7 days-a-week for confidential support, DV shelter bed availability, counseling referrals and more. Bilingual (Spanish/English) services.

• San Diego LGBT Community Center, 619-692-2077 / Hotline 858-212-5433.

• For more information, see San Diego Domestic Violence Council’s Web site at: www.sddvc.org.