A/HRC/38/43 bisexual women are especially at risk of acts of sexual or intrafamily and domestic violence.42 46. The mandate holder notes the difficulty of documenting violence specifically targeting bisexual persons, already identified by the Inter-American Commission. 43 Research reveals that bisexual persons are more prone than lesbian or gay persons to experience intimate partner violence, with shocking rates of intimate partner violence, domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. 44 One survey showed that 61 per cent of bisexual women and 37 per cent of bisexual men reported having experienced rape, physical violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner, and that 46 per cent of bisexual women had been raped.45 47. In addition to the above-mentioned institutional and societal violence, lesbian, gay and bisexual persons may be subjected to torture and ill-treatment in health related and other settings. “Conversion therapies” are treatments supposedly able to change an individual’s sexual orientation. Such practices are harmful to patients and may cause severe pain and suffering and lead to depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. 46 Despite being widely repudiated by major mental health organizations, only a few States Members of the United Nations actually ban them. 47 They are practiced not only by some health-care professionals but also by clergy members or spiritual advisers in the context of religious practice. 48 A recent study revealed the extent of this practice at the global level: in the United States of America alone, some 698,000 lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or gender nonconforming persons have received “conversion” therapy at some point in their lives, and over half of them reportedly when they were adolescents. 49 VI. Root causes of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity 48. At the root of the acts of violence and discrimination under examination lies the intent to punish based on preconceived notions of what the victim’s sexual orientation or gender identity should be, with a binary understanding of what constitutes a male and a female (A/56/156, para. 17; A/HRC/35/23, para. 16.)50 or the masculine and the feminine, or with stereotypes of gender sexuality (A/HRC/20/16, para. 71). The connected acts are invariably the manifestation of deeply entrenched stigma and prejudice, irrational hatred 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “An Overview of Violence” (see footnote 28); APF and UNDP, Promoting and Protecting Human Rights (see footnote 36). See also the report of the Pacific LGBTQI Human Rights Conference, Nuku’alofa, Tonga, 11–14 May 2015 and ActionAid, “Hate crimes: the rise of ‘corrective’ rape in South Africa”, 12 March 2009. Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “An Overview of Violence” (see footnote 28). Movement Advancement Project, Invisible Majority: The Disparities Facing Bisexual People and How to Remedy Them, September 2016, p. 20. Mikel L. Walters, Jieru Chen and Matthew J. Breiding, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation, January 2013. See also ILGA Bisexual Secretariat, “The Promotion and Protection of the Human Rights of Bisexual Persons: challenges and opportunities”, March 2018; Movement Advancement Project, BiNet USA, Bisexual Resource Center, Understanding issues facing bisexual Americans, 2014; and Meg Barker, Christina Richards, Rebecca Jones, Helen Bowes-Catton, Tracey Plowman, Jen Yockney and Marcus Morgan, The Bisexuality Report, 2012. See Christy Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown and Kerith J. Conron, “Conversion Therapy and LGBT Youth”, Williams Institute, January 2018 and Jack Drescher et al., “The Growing Regulation of Conversion Therapy”, Journal of Medical Regulation, vol. 102, No. 2 (2016). Carroll and Mendos, State-Sponsored Homophobia (see footnote 27), p. 67. Mallory et al, “Conversion Therapy and LGBT Youth” (2018) (see footnote 46) and Jack Drescher et al., The Growing Regulation of Conversion Therapy (see footnote 46). Mallory et al., “Conversion Therapy and LGBT Youth” (see footnote 46). See also Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Violence against LGBTI Persons” (see footnote 25), para. 25; A/56/156, para. 17; A/HRC/35/23, para. 16. See also Emilia L. Lombardi, Riki Anne Wilchins, Dana Priesing and Diana Malouf, “Gender Violence: Transgender Experiences with Violence and Discrimination”, Journal of Homosexuality vol. 42, No. 1 (2001), pp. 89–101. 11