Killing Queer Women

• In Event: Roundtable: Examining the Place of Gender Within Hate Crime Law: An International Discussion

Abstract

The victimisation of women who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or queer demonstrates a necessary intersectionality of identity which may be exacerbated if the abuse invokes other actual or presumed aspects of the woman’s identity (such as race, religion, age, disability etc.). However, queer women are routinely marginalised in both the ‘homophobic hate crime’ and ‘violence against women’ research and literature due to their experiences occupying a minority status in both domains. Queer women who are targeted for violent victimisation are also marginalised in social, political and mediated discourses in comparison to the fatal violence experienced by gay/bisexual/queer men and heterosexual women. Drawing on feminist, queer and intersectionality literatures, this discussion addresses the nature and impact of killing queer women, highlighting the inherent challenges concerning the accurate recording, prosecuting and preventing of such violence.

Author

• Marian Duggan, University of Kent