“I didn't think I'd be supported”: LGBTQ+ students’ nonreporting of bias incidents at southeastern colleges and universities.

Abstract

Colleges and universities are complex spaces of both LGBTQ+ liberation and oppression.College students experience LGBTQ+ bias-motivated incidents of harassment, assault, or other violence. Previous researchers have found that these incidents are severely under-reported, which may be related to a range of factors, including campus policies, campus climates, and administrator incompetence. These campus characteristics are upheld through systems of anti-LGBTQ+ surveillance and oppression, including compulsory heterogenderism, which normalize anti-LGBTQ+ violence. In this study, we used a survey of 143 LGBTQ+ college students in the Southeastern U.S. to examine their experiences of violence on campus. Using queer theory, we analyzed student responses about bias-motivated incidents and whether they chose to report the incidents to campus or legal authorities via convergent mixed methods. In this analysis,LGBTQ+ students' decisions to report a bias incident are moderated by considerations of the significance of the incidents, unclear and prohibitive reporting options, and the risks associated with reporting. Additionally, students regularly minimized the seriousness of violence against themselves even when describing incidents that commonly meet college and university definitions of harassment and/or assault. This study shows LGBTQ+ students' experiences of bias-motivated violence and (non)reporting are complex and affected by many facets of college life. Therefore, colleges and universities looking to address violence on campus need to improve not only policy but also communication and other efforts that demonstrate students experiencing violence will be heard, supported, and affirmed.

Doubly Marginalized: Addressing the Minority Stressors Experienced by LGBTQ+ Researchers Who Do LGBTQ+ Research

“…Extant research suggests a chilly climate in many universities due to such factors as microaggressions, violence, bullying, and lack of institutional support (Blockett, 2017; Crane et al., 2020; DeKeseredy et al., 2019; J. C. Harris & Nicolazzo, 2020; Kortegast & van der Toorn, 2018; Lu et al., 2020; Mathies et al., 2019; Nadal, 2019; Prock et al., 2019; Rankin et al., 2019; Simons et al., 2021; Simpfenderfer et al., 2020; Tetreault et al., 2013; Weise et al., 2021). Conceivably, this lack of support in academic environments may lead to a “leaky pipeline” (Freeman, 2018; Hughes, 2018) or even a “hostile obstacle course” (Berhe et al., 2021).…”

“…More covert forms of bias may lead people to distrust their own perceptions of interactions, particularly when there is low support around them or when those in the surrounding environment actively deny their experiences (Cardona et al, 2021;Smith & Freyd, 2014). Rejection sensitivity, a common experience related to minority stressors (Feinstein, 2019), may also lead LGBTQ+ faculty to feel as though they will not be supported if they talk about the challenges they face (Weise et al, 2021), thereby increasing isolation. When the discrimination, bullying, and microaggressions come from within one's own community (e.g., LGBTQ+, racial/ethnic), cultural betrayal theory would suggest unique, and possibly more severe, impacts (Gómez, 2019a(Gómez, , 2019bGómez & Freyd, 2018).…”