No Place for Hate Crime - National Union of Students

No Place for Hate
incident of physical abuse. In comparison, only 14 per
cent of heterosexuals and 12 per cent of those who
preferred not to say indicated they had experienced
one or more forms of physical abuse while studying at
their institution.
Nine per cent of gay respondents experienced at least
one form of serious physical abuse – at least double
that of respondents identifying as heterosexual, lesbian
or who preferred not to say. Eight per cent of bisexual
respondents and the same percentage of students
identifying as an ‘other’ sexual orientation also reported
at least once incident of serious physical abuse.
Prejudice against gender identity
Eight (20 per cent) students self-identifying as trans
or with a trans background reported at least one
instance of physical abuse at least partly motivated by
a prejudice against their gender identity while studying
at their current institution. This compares with only 5
per cent of respondents who preferred not to disclose
their gender identity and 6 per cent of students with the
same gender identity as assigned at birth.
Severity and injuries
Fifty per cent of incidents involving physical abuse
motivated by prejudice against the victim’s gender
identity (whether they were trans or cisgender) entailed
being subjected to unwanted sexual contact. One in
five also involved the victim being followed or chased.
Less common experiences included being held down
or physically blocked, being pushed, slapped, shoved
or having their hair pulled and having something thrown
at them that could cause injury.
Analysis of the qualitative data gathered from many
of the cisgender respondents reporting an incident
of physical abuse because of a bias against their
gender identity implies that many of these students
experienced sexist behaviour. Tellingly, the vast
majority of these respondents were women, indicating
that violence against women is a real and serious
concern among students. 19 However, because not all
respondents provided further information about their
experiences we were not able to fully discern which
incidents were related to sexist prejudice and violence
against women.
Of the eight trans respondents reporting incidents
of physical abuse they believed to be transphobic,
six reported experiences involving being followed,
chased, held down or physically blocked. The other
two respondents reported incidents of transphobic
physical abuse involving more serious experiences,
both of which resulted in injuries. One of these students
reported being kicked, bitten or hit and choked,
dragged, strangled or burned. This incident resulted
in severe bruising, a broken nose, a concussion/loss
of consciousness, and caused them to seek medical
treatment for their injuries. Another trans student
reported several instances in which they were pushed,
slapped, shoved or had their hair pulled, causing minor
bruising. Three trans respondents additionally reported
having been subjected to unwanted sexual contact on
several occasions.
Vandalism, property damage and theft
Fifteen per cent (1,337) of all respondents had
experienced at least one of the following while studying
at their institution:
• vandalism – someone deliberately defacing or doing
damage to their house, flat or halls of residence, or
anything outside it
• property damage – someone deliberately damaging,
tampering with or vandalising their property (eg
personal belongings, vehicle, bicycle or other
property)
• personal theft – personal belongings stolen from their
hands, bag, pockets or locker
• personal theft outside their home – eg from their
doorstep, garden or garage
• robbery – someone taking or attempting to take
something by force or threat of force
• burglary – someone illegally entering their residence
to steal or attempting to steal their belongings, inflict
bodily harm or cause criminal damage.
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