Gay Parenting Study Reports Zero Cases Of Abuse By Lesbian Moms

The Williams Institute today reported (PDF) that a small study of the adolescent children of lesbian mothers showed no reported incidents of abuse by either their parents or another caregiver.

The paper finds that none of the 78 NLLFS adolescents report having ever been physically or sexually abused by a parent or other caregiver. This contrasts with 26% of American adolescents who report parent or caregiver physical abuse and 8.3% who report sexual abuse. According to the authors, "the absence of child abuse in lesbian mother families is particularly noteworthy, because victimization of children is pervasive and its consequences can be devastating. To the extent that our findings are replicated by other researchers, these reports from adolescents with lesbian mothers have implications for healthcare professionals, policymakers, social service agencies, and child protection experts who seek family models in which violence does not occur." On sexual orientation, 2.8% of the NLLFS adolescents identified as predominantly to exclusively homosexual.

The Williams Institute is part of the UCLA School of Law and has been tracking lesbian-headed families for 24 years. Read their complete study. (PDF)