A commentary on the challenges for nurses in identifying and responding to intimate partner violence amongst gay and bisexual men.

AIM

This commentary elucidates the challenges for nurses in effectively identifying and supporting gay and bisexual men who experience intimate partner violence and offers guidance for education, training and practice to nurses when responding to patients who may be experiencing intimate partner violence.

DESIGN

The commentary highlights issues raised by Callan et al.'s (2020) scoping review, translating the experiences of male sexual minorities undergoing abuse to a nursing context, in particular, issues such as homophobic remarks and heteronormative practices in health care and nursing-led environments militate against the identification of individuals who may be experiencing coerced sexual risk-taking, homophobia and sexual orientation outing.

RESULTS

Intimate partner violence is a widespread issue that permeates across heterosexual and LGBTQ+ communities, while impressing on the everyday realities of nurses. The potential for discrimination against sexual minority patients may be offset by improving training, education and offering recommendations for nurses in how to identify IPV and how to assess risk.

CONCLUSIONS

Nurses possess essential training and transferable skills such as empathy, adaptability, active listening and diplomacy and are ideally placed to facilitate disclosure of intimate partner violence. Gaps in knowledge, training and organizational support for nurses may be effectively addressed through drawing on extant research and international best practice guidelines.

IMPACT

Suggestions for research, education and practice to identify gay and bisexual male survivors, intervene appropriately and avoid missed disclosure opportunities are made. We conclude with a table of recommendations with a view to enhancing the essential response of nurses in addressing intimate partner violence in marginalized communities.