Victims of Abuse and Discrimination: Protecting Battered Homosexuals Under Domestic Violence Legislation
Year: 2000
Type: article
Abstract: Abuse in same sex relationships is significantly overlooked in social, as well as legal responses to domestic violence.6 Gays and lesbians today, like battered women in the 1960s, are struggling for recognition of this potentially deadly problem.Presently, some states exclude same sex couples from protection under domestic violence statutes.7 Because these statutes deny homosexuals the same protections given to heterosexuals, under an equal protection analysis, these statutes are unconstitutional.This Note demonstrates that same sex domestic violence victims deserve the same protections afforded to heterosexual victims.Part II discusses the historical pattern of violence against women and the public recognition of homosexual domestic violence.Part III introduces the concepts underlying same sex domestic violence.It discusses heterosexual and homosexual domestic violence, identifying and explaining the similarities and differences.Part IV makes an equal protection challenge to the domestic violence statutes that exclude homosexuals from protection.It argues that an individual's right to equal protection should not be abridged on the basis of sexual orientation.Part IV.C asserts that under the lowest level of scrutiny, rational basis review, the domestic violence statutes are unconstitutional.This Section briefly analyzes Romer v. Evans,' recognizing a move toward heightened rational basis review for gays and lesbians.Part IV.D.1 discusses granting homosexuals suspect class status through an examination of four factors: history of purposeful discrimination, inaccurate prejudices and stereotypes, immutability, and political powerlessness.Finally, Part IV.D.2 argues that classifications based on sexual orientation should be treated as gender classifications and found unconstitutional under intermediate scrutiny.It discusses the evolution of review of gender based classifications and explains why discrimination on the basis of homosexuality is, in effect, gender discrimination. See
Source: bepress Legal Repository
Author: Pamela M. Jablow
Institution: Hofstra University
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W570441482