Published: September 8, 2022
Written by: Sarah Lonbay
Dr. Nicola Roberts
Reports of Violence and Abuse by LGBTQ+ University Students
Dr Nicola Roberts and Professor Catherine Donovan (Durham University) have had a chapter ‘Violence and abuse, universities and LGBTQ+ students’ published in a new book ‘Stopping Gender-based Violence in Higher Education: Policy, Practice, and Partnerships’ with publishers Routledge. Drawing on findings from Project Emerald, which, using a survey, gathered reports of sexual violence and harassment by LGBTQ+ and heterosexual students in higher education. Using the statistical data from the survey, we show how LGBTQ+ students reported higher levels of verbal abuse compared to heterosexual students. LGBTQ+ students were verbally sexually harassed because of their sexuality and because of their gender as women. Using the qualitative data from the survey, we show the range of verbally and physically abusive behaviours LGBTQ+ students experience highlighting the importance of considering students’ intersecting identities in making sense of their victimisation. For example, in our data there are disabled LGBTQ+ students reporting disabled hate speech and Asian LGBTQ+ students reporting racist hate speech. The findings raise important implications for changing the ‘public story’ about who are the potential targets of sexual violence and harassment by perpetrators and to make visible the experiences of LGBTQ+ students. This might involve, for example, ensuring active bystander programmes, currently in use in Higher Education Institutions, present an inclusive public story about sexual violence and harassment.