Evaluation of state-level sexual and gender minority laws for the primary prevention of sexual and intimate partner violence among sexual and gender minority youth in the U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, within the Department of Health and Human Services, awarded $2.5 million to the Regents of the University of California, doing business as University of California, Berkeley, through Cooperative Agreement U01CE003753 on September 30, 2025, under the Injury Prevention and Control Research and State and Community Based Programs (Assistance Listing 93.136).

The award funds evaluation of state-level sexual and gender minority laws and their association with sexual and intimate partner violence among sexual and gender minority youth in the United States. The research investigates how protective and discriminatory state-level laws and policies impact the prevalence and risk factors of sexual and dating violence among LGBTQ+ youth across diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, with stratified analyses to identify disparities among racial and ethnic subgroups and examination of whether effects differ significantly by race and ethnicity using advanced statistical modeling.

The period of performance runs from September 30, 2025 through September 29, 2029. Work is performed in California.

UC Berkeley sub-awarded portions of the project to two research institutions. Tulane University, under sub-award U01CE003753-00012282 (awarded November 12, 2025), contributes to data analysis, policy evaluation, and dissemination of findings under the leadership of Dr. Jay Silverman. The University of Michigan, under sub-award U01CE003753-00012283 (awarded November 5, 2025), contributes to causal effect estimation using propensity score and fixed-effects methodologies and examination of stigma as a mediating mechanism under Co-Investigator Dr. Katie Edwards. Both sub-recipients participate in study design, longitudinal data analysis, and policy-relevant interpretation of findings through the project period.