Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T06:57:59.070Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

‘It's Something You Just Have to Ignore’: Understanding and Addressing Contemporary Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans Safety Beyond Hate Crime Paradigms

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2011

KATH BROWNE ,
LEELA BAKSHI  and
JASON LIM
KATH BROWNE
Affiliation:
School of the Environment and Technology, University of Brighton email: K.A.Browne@brighton.ac.uk
LEELA BAKSHI
Affiliation:
Activist Researcher email: lbakshi@tiscali.co.uk
JASON LIM
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London email: jasonkylim@msn.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In common with the experiences of many other groups – and despite changing legal landscapes and increasing recognition within social policy of different groups’ needs – LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans) people continue to face discrimination and abuse, and improving safety continues to be a key touchstone for policy makers and practitioners engaging with LGBT lives. Based on evidence from Count Me In Too, an LGBT participatory research project in Brighton & Hove, UK, the paper challenges approaches to dealing with LGBT safety that narrowly focus on reporting within a hate crime paradigm, and recognises the shift towards multi-agency approaches to LGBT safety. Our evidence shows that many LGBT people differentially recognise or do not recognise abuse, instead ‘normalising’ much of the abuse they experience in order to carry on with day-to-day life. By focusing on the effects of abuse and how it is dealt with by individuals and communities, rather than focusing on what constitutes abuse, we show the importance of addressing LGBT safety in ways that move beyond questions of criminal justice and the reporting of hate crime. We argue for a broader social policy framework that uses multi-agency approaches to community safety for those who experience abuse on the basis of their sexual and/or gender identities, which should attend to how safety services may provide more appropriate contexts of care and support, and which should build upon relevant knowledges within LGBT communities. Fostering solidarities among LGBT people may also empower them to work towards broader social transformation.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Social Policy , Volume 40 , Issue 4 , October 2011 , pp. 739 - 756
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bell, D. and Binnie, J. (2000), The Sexual Citizen: Queer Politics and Beyond, Cambridge: Polity Press.Google Scholar
Beresford, P. (2010), ‘Service users and social policy: developing different discussions, challenging dominant discourses’, in Greener, I., Holder, C. and Kilkey, M. (eds.), Social Policy Review 22: Analysis and Debate in Social Policy, 2010, Bristol: The Policy Press, pp. 227–51.Google Scholar
Browne, K. (2006), ‘(Re)making the other: heterosexualising everyday space’, Environment and Planning A, 39: 4, 996–1014.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Browne, K. and Bakshi, L. (forthcoming), ‘“We are here to party?”: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans leisurescapes’, Leisure Studies.Google Scholar
Browne, K., Bakshi, L. and Lim, J. (forthcoming), ‘“There's no point in doing research if no one is going to listen”: identifying lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans needs and effecting “positive social change” for LGBT people in Brighton & Hove’, in Beresford, P. and Carr, S. (eds.), Social Care, Service Users and User Involvement: Building on Research, London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.Google Scholar
Browne, K. and Lim, J. (2008), ‘Community safety: count me in too’, additional analysis report, Spectrum and the University of Brighton, available at http://www.spectrum-lgbt.org/cmiToo/downloads/CMIT_Safety_Report_Final_Feb08.pdf, last accessed 26 February 2011.Google Scholar
Browne, K. and Lim, J. (2010), ‘Trans in the “gay capital of the UK”’, Gender, Place and Culture, 17: 5, 615–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, K. (2008), ‘In defence of gay children? “Progay” homophobia and the production of homonormativity’, Sexualities, 11: 4, 455–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bryant, K. and Vidal-Ortiz, S. (2008), ‘Introduction to retheorizing homophobias’, Sexualities, 11: 4, 387–96.Google Scholar
Clements-Nolle, K., Marx, R. and Katz, M. (2006), ‘Attempted suicide among transgender persons: the influence of gender-based discrimination and victimization’, Journal of Homosexuality, 51: 3, 53–69.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Corteen, K. (2002), ‘Lesbian safety talk: problematizing definitions and experiences of violence, sexuality and space’, Sexualities, 5: 3, 259–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Criminal Justice Act (2003), Criminal Justice Act, c.44, London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Cvetkovich, A. (2003), An Archive of Feelings: Trauma, Sexuality, and Lesbian Public Cultures, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Doan, P. L. (2007), ‘Queers in the American city: transgendered perceptions of urban space’, Gender, Place and Culture, 14: 1, 57–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duggan, L. (2002), ‘The new homonormativity: the sexual politics of neoliberalism’, in Castronovo, R. and Nelson, D. D. (eds.), Materializing Democracy: Towards a Revitalized Cultural Politics, Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. 175–94.Google Scholar
Fraser, N. (2000), ‘Rethinking recognition’, New Left Review, 3: 107–20.Google Scholar
Gorman-Murray, A. (2008), ‘Queering the family home: narratives from gay, lesbian and bisexual youth coming out in supportive family homes in Australia’, Gender, Place and Culture, 15: 1, 31–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grossman, A. H. and D'Augelli, A. R. (2006), ‘Transgender youth: invisible and vulnerable’, Journal of Homosexuality, 51: 1, 111–28.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hemmings, C. (2002), Bisexual Spaces: A Geography of Sexuality and Gender, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Herek, G. M. (2009), ‘Hate crimes and stigma-related experiences among sexual minority adults in the United States: prevalence estimates from a national probability sample’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 24: 1, 54–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Herek, G. M., Cogan, J. C. and Gillis, J. R. (2002), ‘Victim experiences in hate crimes based on sexual orientation’, Journal of Social Issues, 58: 2, 319–39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Herek, G. M., Gillis, J. R., Cogan, J. C. and Glunt, E. K. (1997), ‘Hate crime victimization among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults: prevalence, psychological correlates, and methodological issues’, Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12: 2, 195–215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hines, S. (2007), Transforming Gender: Transgender Practices of Identity, Intimacy and Care, Bristol: Policy Press.Google Scholar
Kapoor, I. (2005), ‘Participatory development, complicity and desire’, Third World Quarterly, 26: 8, 1203–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kelly, L. (1988), ‘What's in a name? Defining child sexual abuse’, Feminist Review, 28: 65–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kentlyn, S. (2008), ‘The radically subversive space of the queer home: “Safety House” and “Neighbourhood Watch”’, Australian Geographer, 39: 3, 327–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kesby, M. (2007), ‘Spatialising participatory approaches: the contribution of geography to mature debate’, Environment and Planning A, 39: 12, 2813–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lewis, L. (2009), ‘Politics of recognition: what can a human rights perspective contribute to understanding users’ experiences of involvement in mental health services’, Social Policy & Society, 8: 2, 257–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mason, G. (2001), ‘Body maps: envisaging homophobia, violence and safety’, Social & Legal Studies, 10: 1, 23–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mason, G. (2005), ‘Hate crime and the image of the stranger’, British Journal of Criminology, 45: 6, 837–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mason, G. (2007), ‘Hate crime as a moral category: lessons from the Snowtown case’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 40: 3, 249–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGhee, D. (2003), ‘Joined-up government, “community safety” and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender “active citizens”’, Critical Social Policy, 23: 3, 345–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGhee, D. (2004), ‘Beyond toleration: privacy, citizenship and sexual minorities in England and Wales’, British Journal of Sociology, 55: 3, 357–75.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michaelson, M. T. (2008), ‘Inclusion and social justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender members of the learning community in Queensland state schools’, Australian Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 18: 1, 76–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moore, D. and Rennie, A. M. (2006), ‘Hated identities: queers and Canadian anti-hate legislation’, Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 48: 5, 823–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moran, L. (2002), ‘Homophobic violence as hate crime’, Criminal Justice Matters, 48: 1, 8–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moran, L. (2007), ‘“Invisible minorities”: Challenging community and neighbourhood models of policing’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 7: 4, 417–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Moran, L. and Sharp, A. (2004), ‘Violence, identity and policing: the case of violence against transgender people’, Criminology and Criminal Justice, 4: 4, 395–417.Google Scholar
Moran, L., Skeggs, B., Tyrer, P. and Corteen, K. (2004), Sexuality and the Politics of Violence and Safety, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Morgan, J. (2002), ‘US hate crime legislation: a legal model to avoid in Australia’, Journal of Sociology, 38: 1, 25–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Namaste, K. (1996), ‘Genderbashing: sexuality, gender, and the regulation of public space’, Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 14: 221–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nash, C. J. and Bain, A. L. (2007), ‘“Reclaiming raunch?”: spatializing queer identities at a Toronto women's bathhouse event’, Social and Cultural Geography, 8: 1, 47–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nast, H. (2002), ‘Queer patriarchies, queer racisms, international’, Antipode, 34: 5, 874–909.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Brien, J. (2008), ‘Afterword: complicating homophobia’, Sexualities, 11: 4, 496–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Perry, B. (2001), In the Name of Hate: Understanding Hate Crime, London: Routledge.Google Scholar
Perry, J. (2008), ‘The “perils” of an identity politics approach to a legal recognition of harm’, Liverpool Law Review, 29: 19–36.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Phelan, S. (2001), Sexual Strangers: Gays, Lesbians and the Dilemmas of Citizenship, Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Puar, J. (2008), Terrorist Assemblages: Homonationalism in Queer Times, Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Reavey, P. and Warner, S. (2003), New Feminist Stories of Child Sexual Abuse, London: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richardson, D. and May, H. (1999), ‘Deserving victims?: sexual status and the social construction of violence’, Sociological Review, 47: 2, 308–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ryan, C. and Rivers, I. (2003), ‘Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth: victimization and its correlates in the USA and UK’, Culture, Health & Sexuality, 5: 2, 103–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stern, V. (2010), The Stern Review: An Independent Review of How Rape Complaints are Handled by Public Authorities in England and Wales, London: Government Equalities Office/Home Office.Google Scholar
Swim, J. K., Pearson, N. B. and Johnston, K. E. (2007), ‘Daily encounters with heterosexism: a week in the life of lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals’, Journal of Homosexuality, 53: 4, 31–48.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Szymanski, D. A. (2005), ‘Heterosexism and sexism as correlates of psychological distress in lesbians’, Journal of Counselling and Development, 83: 3, 355–60.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taylor, Y. (2007), Working Class Lesbian Life: Classed Outsiders, London: Palgrave.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomsen, S. (2006), ‘Homophobic violence, cultural essentialism and shifting sexual identities’, Social & Legal Studies, 15: 3, 389–407.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Valentine, G. (1996), ‘(Re)negotiating the “heterosexual street”’, in Duncan, N. (ed.), Bodyspace: Destabilizing Geographies of Gender and Sexuality, London: Routledge, pp. 146–55.Google Scholar
Vidal-Ortiz, S. (2008), ‘“The Puerto Rican way is more tolerant”: constructions and uses of “homophobia” among Santería practitioners across ethno-racial and national identification’, Sexualities, 11: 4, 476–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar