JULY, 2020

N L I U, B H O P AL

QUEER SURVEY
REPORT

PREPARED BY

INARA
(NLIU QUEER & ALLY COMMUNITY)

e-mail: nliuqueerandallycommunity@gmail.com
 IN TROD U CT ION

In 2014, the Supreme Court in the NALSA V. UOI, held that the main
objective of the fundamental right against sex discrimination is to prevent the
direct or indirect attitude to treat people differently, for the reason of not being
in conformity with stereotypical generalizations of binary genders. Both
gender and biological attributes constitute distinct components of sex.
Biological characteristics, of course, include genitals, chromosomes and
secondary sexual features, but gender attributes include one’s self image, the
deep psychological or emotional sense of sexual identity and character. The
discrimination on the ground of ‘sex’ under Articles 15 and 16, therefore,
includes discrimination on the ground of gender identity. Furthermore, in
2018, strengthening this view The Supreme Court of India unanimously held
Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 to be unconstitutional. The Court
reasoned that sexual orientation forms an inherent part of self-identity;
denying the same would be violative of the right to life and any discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation was violative of the right to equality and the
same cannot be denied on the ground that they only affect a minuscule
section of the population.

In pursuance of making NLIU a safe space for all sections in the light of the
said law, a survey form was circulated to assess how sexual orientation
impacts the life of all members on campus, especially those belonging to the
minority. The data presented in this report are a summary of 96 responses
received via the said form. The identities and answers of all survey takers
have been kept confidential and only summary of the findings are published
to share the information.

NLIU Queer Survey Report 01

 AWARENESS

Question- How educated do you feel you are about LGBTQ+ individuals and
issues?

Statistics- On the question of self-awareness, 33.3% (32) felt they were 'a
little aware', 40.6% (39) said they had 'enough' awareness, 18.8% (18) felt
they were 'very' aware and 7.3% (7) felt 'extremely' educated on LGBTQ+
individuals and their issues.

Observation- All Survey takers believe that they are aware and educated
about queer individuals and their issues atleast to a certain extent.

NLIU Queer Survey Report 02

 VISIBILITY

NLIU Queer Survey Report 03

 VISIBILITY

Question- Is there anyone from the queer community in your social circle?

Statistics- On the question of visibility of queer individuals on campus,

Majority (57.3%/55) said that they had someone from the queer community
in their social circle while 33.3% (31) opted for 'No' and 10.4% (10) chose
'Maybe'.

Question- Do you know any openly queer person on campus?

Statistics- Asked if they knew someone who is openly queer on campus,

Majority 59.1% (55) chose 'No' while 40.9% (38) opted for 'Yes'.

Question- Do you know about any openly queer couple on campus?

Statistics- Further, on the question of visibility of openly queer couples on

campus, 85.3% (81) chose 'No' while only 14.7% (14) went with 'Yes'.

Observation- Even though majority of the survey takers have someone

from the queer community in their social circle, the visibility decreases
when it comes to being open about their orientation or their relationship,
on campus.

NLIU Queer Survey Report 04

 CONFIDENCE
Question- How confident would you feel about your identity in college, if you
were from the queer community?

Statistics- Asked if individuals would feel confident in their identity had they
been from the queer community, in college, 43% (40) said 'Not at all', while
32.3% (30) chose 'A little'.
16.1% (15) chose 'Enough' while 6.5% (6) and 2.2% (2) opted for 'Very' and
'Extremely' respectively.

Observation- Majority (75.3%/70) of the survey takers believe that their

confidence in their identity on campus, had they been from the queer
community, would range from none at all to a little.

NLIU Queer Survey Report 05

 A B U SE
Question- Have you ever seen someone being abused on campus, in any
manner, due to their sexual orientation?

Statistics - On the question, if individuals have ever witnessed any sort of

abuse on campus, on the basis of one's sexual orientation, 33.3% (32)
said 'Yes' while 66.7% (64) chose 'No'.

Furthermore, 7 Individuals chose to share their incidents of abuse which

ranged from name calling, unwanted attention and offensive messages to
sexual harassment. Additionally, 23 Individuals shared if they had witnessed
any action being taken against perpetrators and almost all responded that
'No actions were taken at all'.

Observation- There are numerous instances of abuse that survey takers

have witnessed. Most, who shared their experiences, stated that no actions
were taken against the perpetrators.

NLIU Queer Survey Report 06

NLIU Queer Survey Report 07
ATTITUDE

Question- How would you best describe your attitude towards members of the
queer community?
Statistics - On the topic of their own attitude towards queer individuals, Majority
lies somewhere on the positive spectrum (53.1%/51- Extremely Positive,
28.1%/27-Very Positive and 3.1%/3 opted- A little Positive) while the minority
accounted for 15.6% (14.6%/14- Neutral and 1%/1- opted for negative).

Question- How would you describe your college friends’ attitude towards members
of the queer community?
Statistics- On the topic of their peers attitude though, there is varied distribution
(11.5%/11-Extremely positive, 17.7%/17-very positive, 20.8%/20- A little positive,
17.7%/17- Neutral, 12.5%/12- A little Negative, 16.7%/16-Very Negative and
3.1%/3- Extremely Negative).

Observation- Even though, majority of the survey takers, on a personal level, felt
that their attitude towards members of the queer community is majorly positive,
their peers’ attitude towards the same had a varied distribution, especially in
regard to the negativity spectrum amounting to 32.3%/31.

NLIU Queer Survey Report 08

LAST NOTE

The Report is an attempt to understand the environment at NLIU in regard to

queer issues. We have tried to put forth the data received from the survey
without any bias, for the NLIU community to make their own conclusions. We
believe there is an urgent need to address the negative factors affecting queer
individuals and the NLIU community as a whole, if we are to ensure that NLIU
becomes a safe and inclusive place for all.

We would like to thank all the survey takers, members of the queer community
and our allies without whom this report would not have come into being. Last
but definitely not the least, we deeply appreciate all the suggestions received
and are continuously working on them.
Thank
You