Social and Psychological Consequences of Fear of Heterosexist Violence

• In Event: Correlates of LGBTQ Populations’ Offending and Victimization

Abstract

From the earliest development of heterosexist hate crime scholarship, the social and psychological effects of victimisation has been a critical focus of the field. Research has consistently identified increased psychological trauma, avoidance behaviours and reduced social citizenship as common outcomes of hate crime victimisation. Throughout the same period, there has been a public policy imperative to identify the correlates to fear-of-crime. While the emerging research is contested, criminologists have begun developing sophisticated qualitative and quantitative instruments to track the impact of fear about crime. We combine these two research strands and report on the findings from a localised study of heterosexist violence. In this study of a highly victimised community, two critical factors emerge; the capacity to safely disclose sexual and/or gender identity, and social connectedness to LGBTIQ and general communities. Participants who reported concealing their gender and/or sexual identity and a lack of connection to either the general and/or LGBTIQ communities reported higher levels of fear of heterosexism. When safe disclosure and social connectedness are unattainable, the social and psychological consequences of fear of heterosexism are amplified, just as it is with heterosexist victimisation. In this respect, fear of heterosexist violence can be as damaging as heterosexist victimisation.

Authors

• Christopher Fox, University of Sydney

• Nicole L. Asquith, University of Western Sydney