The significance of this report speaks volumes for itself. (download the PDF)
The Williams Institute recently announced findings from the US National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (the longest study ever conducted on American lesbian families - 24 years) that NONE of the 78 adolescents (17 years of age) who participated reported having ever been physically or sexually abused by a parent or any other caregiver. This can be compared to the 26 percent of American adolescents living in non-lesbian-led homes who report parent or caregiver physical abuse and 8.3 percent who report sexual abuse.
The study was conducted by Nanette Gartrell, M.D., Henny Bos, Ph.D. (University of Amsterdam), and Naomi Goldberg, M.P.P. (Williams Institute) and the findings were published in Pediatrics in an article entitled Adolescents of the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study: Sexual Orientation, Sexual Behavior, and Sexual Risk Exposure.
The study is compelling and has significant implications for healthcare professionals, policymakers, social service agencies, and child protection experts who look at family models in which violence does not occur. It also clearly has significant implications for those who claim that same-sex households are inept or inadequate environments for children.
Read the whole article here.
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