ARTÍCULOS
Discrimination and victimization against gay men and lesbians in Chile: Two patterns or just one?
Jaime Barrientos* and Michel Bozon**
*Doctor in Social Psychology. Associate Professor, Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte.
Avenida Angamos 0610 - Antofagasta, Chile. E-Mail: jbarrien@ucn.cl
**Doctor in Anthropology. Director of Research at the Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED).
133 Boulevard Davout, 75020 Paris, France. E-Mail: booz@ined.fr
Resumen
La marcha por el Orgullo Lésbico, Gay, Bisexual y Transgénero se realiza cada año en Santiago de Chile y aglutina a minorías sexuales, pero también a heterosexuales que asisten para apoyar a dicha población en la reinvindación de sus derechos. Específicamente, el propósito del estudio realizado fue describir a gay y lesbianas participantes en la Marcha del Orgullo desde el punto de vista de la discriminación y la victimización. Se centró solo en dicha población ya que mayoritariamente es la que asiste a la marcha y porque no existen estudios previos que comparen en el país a ambos grupos. Además, tuvo como objetivo mostrar que los hombres gay sufren más discriminación y victimización que las lesbianas. La muestra consistió en 203 gay y lesbianas mayores de 18 años. Con respecto a los resultados, la proporción de gay que reportaron haber percibido eventos de discriminación fue igual al 72.7% y 79.6% en las lesbianas. Asimismo, el 81.8% del total de los gay reportaron eventos de victimización y un 75.3% del total de las lesbianas. Se observan diferencias significativas entre gay y lesbianas, afectando solo a las últimas, en la prohibición de entrada o permanencia en lugares de entretención, discriminación ejercida por agentes de seguridad y discriminación laboral. Entre los eventos de victimización, gay informaron más burlas que las lesbianas. Se concluye que hay similaridades en los eventos de discriminación y victimización percibidos por gay y lesbianas, pero también algunas diferencias. La existencia de un patrón diferenciado entre gay y lesbianas deberá ser confirmada en futuros estudios.
Palabras clave: Hombres gay; Lesbianas; Discriminación; Victimización; Chile.
Abstract
The Lesbian, Gay men, Bisexual and Trans -gender (LGBT) Pride Parade takes place in Santiago (Chile) every year. It gathers sexual minorities and also heterosexuals who attend to support
LGBT population rights vindication. Specifically,
the objective of the study was to describe gay men
and lesbians who participate in the LGBT Pride
Parade, from the viewpoint of discrimination and
victimization. In this sense, this study is innovating
because it is based on questionnaires administered
in the context of LGBT Pride Parades. In Chile,
data on this issue are scarce. There are few previous
studies on the topic, reveal ing that many LGBT
people report discrimination and victimization in
different situations and contexts. Nevertheless,
these studies have not clearly stated the existing
differences in the patterns of discrimination and
victimization events that affect the different groups
(for example, those that affect gay men and
lesbians). So, the study focused only on this
population for two reasons: first, mainly LGBT
subjects attend the parade and secondly, there were
no previous studies to compare both groups in the
country. Second, the study also aimed at showing
that gay men suffer greater discrimination and victimization than lesbians. A non-probabilistic
sample of 343 participants was collected. From
this sample, 140 subjects were excluded as they
did not identify themselves as gay men or lesbians,
thus totaling a sample of 203 participants. There
were a total of 110 gay men (54.2%) and 93
lesbians (45.8%), aging from 18 to 53 years
(M = 24.62 and SD = 6.62). Concerning results,
72.7% of gay men reported discrimination events
perceived, as compared to 79.6% of lesbians. In
addition, 81.8% of gay men reported victimization
events, while lesbians reported 75.3 %. Significant
differences are observed between gay men and
lesbians, affecting only the latter in: prohibition to
enter or stay in entertainment venues, discrimination by security guards, and discrimination at
work. Among victimization events, gays reported
more mockery than lesbians.
This study has various implications. One of
them is the fact that an important place where gay
men and particularly lesbians are discriminated is
their workplace. Future studies will have to focus
on investigating the impact of discrimination due
to sexual orientation in a work context. In addition,
future studies should further examine whether
verbal mockery-type victimization and its impact
on the gay men population is a common pattern of
victimization toward the country's LGBT population. Likewise, it would be necessary to study
whether other relevant dimensions in the country,
such as social class and religion, contribute to
experiencing this type of victimization.
Also, there are therapists in Chile who consider
homosexuality as an illness and apply reconversive
therapies, thus contributing to stigmatization and
violence toward sexual minorities. Therefore, this
study may contribute to the training of future
therapists and health personnel assisting gay men
and lesbians since sexual minorities have reported
that they face various barriers that prevent them
from having equal access to health services, a fact
that could have a great impact on their quality of
life. Finally, considering the differences in discrimination and victimization found between gay men
and lesbians in Chile: Do gay men experience more
discrimination and victimization events than lesbians? Are there two different patterns of discrimination and victimization or, instead, a
general one that affects both gay men and lesbians
in Chile? Data are not conclusive. They indicate that there are many similarities in the discrimination and victimization events perceived by gay
men and lesbians, but they also reveal two different
patterns. Therefore, the existence of a differentiated
pattern of discrimination and victimization between gay men and lesbians should be confirmed
by future studies.
Key words: Gay men; Lesbians; Discrimination; Victimization; Chile.
Introduction
In Chile, as in other countries in Latin
America, the legal situation of sexual minorities has improved in the past few years
(Ottoson, 2011). For example, in 2012 Chile
passed an antidiscrimination law that included
sexual orientation (Biblioteca del Congreso
Nacional, 2013). In addition, attitudes toward
sexual minorities in the western world and in
Chile have gradually improved since the
1990s. For example, the Latinobarómetro and
World Values Survey asked the question "How justifiable is homosexuality?", using a
scale from 1: never justifiable to 10: always
justifiable. The results from these surveys
indicated that in Chile the mean for accepted
homosexuality was 1.8 in 1990, compared to
5.3 in 2009. In addition, the percentage of
individuals who consider that homosexuality
is never justifiable has gradually decreased
from 76.9% in 1990 to 11.9% in 2009 (Movimiento de Liberación e Integración Homosexual - MOVILH- , 2013).
However, discrimination, victimization, and
other forms of harassment due to one's sexual
orientation are still a problem in Chile
(MOVILH, 2013). In Chile, as in many other
western countries, sexual-orientation discrimination and victimization occur in contexts
where heterosexuality is the norm (Cárdenas,
Barrientos, Gómez, & Frías-Navarro, 2012).
In this context, men and women who break the
social conventions of gender roles and sexuality are particularly exposed to discrimination
and victimization events (Carrara, 2012).
Discrimination and victimization: Some findings
Apart from extreme forms of discrimination
and victimization reported by LGBT organizations in the past few decades, such as assassinations and hate crimes, gay men, lesbians
and transgenders are affected by violence in
many other ways (Caceres, Pecheny, Frasca,
Raupp Rios, & Pocahy, 2009; Ottoson, 2011).
Therefore, it is essential to collect data gay men
or lesbians may be treated worse or discriminated against more than other people in
contexts such as the work place, school, home,
or health care services (Herek, Cogan, & Gillis,
2002; Pelullo, Di Giuseppe, & Angelillo,
2013). Moreover, in these contexts, gay men
or lesbians may also be victims of some types
of aggressions or harassment because of their
sexual orientation. Gay men and lesbians could
suffer different negative outcomes (e.g., physical or psychological health problems) due to
this victimization.
Various studies about this discrimination
and victimization have been carried out in
other countries, such as the USA or Mexico
(Herek, Gillis, Cogan, & Glunt, 1997; Herek,
Cogan, & Gillis, 2002; Ortiz-Hernández & García, 2005a). For example, one population based survey of adults in the U.S. found that
76% of gay men or bisexual respondents
reported a lifetime of discrimination (Mays & Cochran, 2001). Regarding victimization, in a
recent Italian study using a systematic random sample, 28.3% and 11.9% self-reported at
least one episode of victimization because of
their sexual orientation in their lifetime and in
the past year (Pelullo et al., 2013).
In Latin America, studies on the gay men
and lesbian population have mainly focused
on the behavior of HIV/AIDS-infected men
who have sex with other men, but issues such
as homophobia, which are frequently experienced by this population, have not been sufficiently analyzed (Ortiz-Hernández & García, 2005b). In Latin America, despite the fact
that more and more regional researchers and
politicians are concerned about this issue,
knowledge about the living conditions of gay
men and lesbians is quite limited (Barrientos & Cárdenas, 2013).
Although related research in industrialized
countries provides important input, Latin
American conditions are different from those
of other countries, due to greater socioeconomic inequality and rigidity in characterizing
gender stereotypes (Cárdenas et al., 2012).
In Chile, data on this issue are scarce. However, some studies about the discrimination and
victimization of the gay men, lesbian, bisexual,
and transgender populations (LGBT), using
convenience samples, have been conducted in
Chile in the past few years (Barrientos et al.,
2010; Barrientos, Cárdenas, Díaz, & Muñoz,
2012; MOVILH & Fundación Progresa,
2012). These studies show that many LGBT
people report discrimination and victimization
in different situations and contexts. For example, a recent, non-probabilistic study carried
out with 258 Chilean lesbians, gay men,
bisexuals, and transgender people revealed that
52.7% of them had been individually and
directly victimized (verbal and physical aggression and threats) at least once in their lives.
Those most affected were transgender people
(58.1% of them reported some kind of victimization) followed by lesbians (57.4%), gay
men (49.1%), and bisexuals (48.8%). Furthermore, LGBT organizations, such as the Unified Sexual Minority Movement (MUMS, its
acronym in Spanish) and the MOVILH, have
registered discrimination and victimization
events reported recently (MOVILH, 2013;
MUMS, 2006). For example, MOVILH, using
a compilation of reported events, has documented an increase in victimization events
from 48 in 2002 to 186 in 2011 (2013).
Nevertheless, these studies have not clearly
specified the existing differences in the patterns of discrimination and victimization
events that affect the different groups (for example, those that affect gay men and lesbians).
Research on discrimination and victimization
of sexual minorities has found that gay men
experience more extreme levels of physical
violence than lesbians (Carbone-Lopez, Esbensen, & Brick, 2010). Gay men are also
more likely to be discriminated and victimized
in public, including in gay-identified areas,
whereas lesbians are more often discriminated
and victimized in or near their homes (Aurand, Addessa, & Bush, 1985). Regarding differences between gay men and lesbians, a recent
meta-analysis (Katz-Wise & Hyde, 2012)
showed that gay men experience some types of
victimization events (hold-up and robbery)
more than women, but, in general, gender differences are small. Based on the relationship
between atypical gender and victimization percentages, the authors hypothesize that men
may show a more generically atypical appearance or behavior than lesbians, thus resulting in
greater victimization. They also suggest that
women suffer less victimization than men because sexuality between two women could be
associated with their images in pornography;
therefore, lesbians would be less victimized
because they represent a source of excitement
for heterosexual men, a fact that could normalize their minority sexual status (Katz-Wise &
Hyde, 2012).
Research context: LGBT Pride Parade
LGBT pride parades join together many
gay men, lesbians, bisexuals, transgender
people and heterosexuals who march for the
rights of sexual minorities. These marches
commemorate the disturbances that took place
in the USA on June 28, 1969 in Stonewall-Inn
in New York, as a response and resistance to
discrimination and violence against sexual
minorities. Currently, they are organized in
many countries and have acquired their own
meaning. They are not only manifestations of
unsatisfied LGBT population needs or an
opportunity for social visibility, but also a
festive political event (Grupo Estudios Sobre
Sexualidad, 2006). In Chile, these parades
have taken place every September since 1990,
and participation has increased dramatically, as
shown in the 2013 parade, where about 50,000
people participated (XV version). This figure
indicates that the parades provide a unique
opportunity to study patterns of sexual minority discrimination and victimization. In Latin
America, studies on these populations have
been carried out in the LGBT parade (Assis,
Carrara, Facchini, & Ramos, 2006; Grupo Estudios Sobre Sexualidad, 2006). In Chile, only one previous study has been conducted on this
issue (Barrientos et al., 2010).
Thus, the purpose of this study is to specifically describe the gay men and lesbian
population that participated in the 2011-LGBT
parade in Santiago, from the standpoint of
discrimination and victimization. Moreover,
the idea, specifically, is to show, as some
previous studies suggest, that gay men suffer
greater discrimination and victimization than
lesbians (Katz-Wise & Hyde, 2012).
Method
Participants
A non-probabilistic (convenience) sample of 343 participants was collected. From this sample, 140 were excluded, as they did not identify themselves as gay men or lesbians, leaving a sample of 203 participants. There were a total of 110 gay men (54.2%) and 93 lesbians (45.8%), aged from 18 to 53 (M = 24.62, SD = 6.62) (see Table 1).
Table 1. Sociodemographic characteristics
Measures
Socio-demographic measures
Data were collected on sex, sexual self-identification, age (participants 18 years old or younger were discarded because the age of sexual consent in Chile is 18, and surveying people under the age of 18 requires parental consent), educational level and religion. The question for this latter variable was: "What was your religion when you were a child?" Participants were then asked about their current religion.
Discrimination and victimization measures
1.- Perceived discrimination events: Based on previous questions used in Brazil (Assis, Carrara, Facchini, & Ramos, 2006), respondents were asked if they had ever experienced twelve different discrimination events because someone perceived them to be gay men or lesbians. Items offered two response options: Yes or No. Multiplechoice response.
2.- Victimization events: Based on previous questions used in antigay victimization and harassment studies in other countries (Herek, Gillis, Cogan, & Glunt, 1997), respondents were asked if they had ever experienced the following aggression and harassment events because someone perceived them to be gay men or lesbians: physical abuse, insults or threats, mockery, sexual assault by a casual partner, sexual abuse, sexual harassment, and blackmail, extortion or bribery. Items offered two response options: Yes and No. Multiple-choice response.
3.- Most serious victimization events: Respondents were asked to indicate the most serious events from the seven victimization events mentioned above. One aneswer was allowed.
The following questions refer to the most serious victimization events.
1.- Place of victimization: This variable was divided into eight categories: home, work, school, public space, shop, public institution, police station, other. One answer was allowed.
2.- Perpetrators of victimization: This variable was divided into 14 categories: friend, partner, family member, neighbor, police officer, boss, co-worker, private security guard, teacher, student, schoolmate, unknown, other, and DK/NA. One answer was allowed.
3.- Reported victimization: This variable was divided into police department / court, anti-discrimination organism, mass media, NGO or LGBT group, friend, family member, partner, other, not reported, and DK / NA. One answer was allowed.
4.- Punished victimization: This variable was divided into seven categories: victimization was punished, victimization was not punished, victimization stopped, victimization did not stop, victimization increased, other, and DK / NA. Multiple-choice response.
Procedure
This study was based on questionnaires
administered in the context of LGBT Pride
Parades taking place in other countries of the
region (CLAM, 2014). The surveys were
administered by 30 volunteers involved in
social science. They were recruited as interviewers, trained, and informed about possible
difficulties during field work and logistics. In
addition, they were provided with information
on the methodological aspects of the study. All
these data were included in a training manual
given to each volunteer.
The questionnaire was administered face-to-face during the 2011 LGBT Pride Parade in
Santiago, Chile, from 2:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
The study was supported by UCN Ethics
Commission. Participants gave verbal consent
to participate in the study. Subjects were interviewed previous to the parade.
Analysis
Descriptive analyses were performed to characterize the demographic composition and prevalence of different forms of discrimination and victimization. Next, the way these variables differed for gay men and lesbians was examined using Pearson Chi-squared tests and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).
Results
Considering the gay men and lesbian sample included, 75.9% reported perceived discrimination events and 78.8% reported victimization events. Specifically, 72.7% of gay men and 79.6% of lesbians reported discrimination events, and 81.8 % of gay men and 75.3% of lesbians reported victimization events.
Discrimination events
The discrimination events most reported by gay men and lesbians occurred in a religious environment (36.9%), at school (33.3%), and in the family (33%) (see Table 2).
Table 2. Discrimination events in lifetime against gay men and lesbians (Multiple-choice response)
*.05 significance level
**.005 significance level
Statistically significant differences between gay men and lesbians are observed
on only three types of perceived discrimination events.
The first is not being allowed to enter or
stay in a shop or entertainment venue, with
lesbians being more affected than gay men: χ2(1, N = 195) = 8.038, p = .005. Second, lesbians feel more discriminated against by security guards than gay men do: χ2(1,
N = 194) = 5.519, p = .019. Third, lesbians
are more discriminated against than gay men
in getting a job or being fired from a job: χ2(1, N = 194) = 4.290, p = .038.
Victimization events
The most frequent victimization events are mockery (64.6%) and insults or threats (63.3%) (see Table 3). There are significant differences between gay men (71%) and lesbians (57.1%) only on mockery: gay men report more mockery than lesbians:χ2 (1, N = 198) = 4.418, p = .042.
Table 3. Victimization events in lifetime against gay men and lesbians (Multiple-choice response)
*.05 significance level
Since the majority of the gay men and
lesbians have suffered from insults, threats and
mockery, it is not surprising that these events
also appear as the most serious ones reported.
Thus, the most serious victimization events
(not considering the time of occurrence) are
insults or threats (36.2%), followed by mockery (24.8%). The most serious victimization
events reported by gay men are insults and
threats (35.3%), mockery (30.6%), and sexual
harassment (16.5%), whereas those reported
by lesbians are insults and threats (37.5%),
mockery (17.2%), and physical aggression
(17.2%). Furthermore, although insults, threats
and mockery are important for both groups, an
important difference is observed between gay
men and lesbians: gay men report sexual
harassment as a serious victimization event,
whereas lesbians report physical victimization
as a serious event. However, there were no
statistically significant differences between gay
men and lesbians regarding the most serious
victimization events.
Places where gay men and lesbians are
frequently victimized due to their sexual identity are, first, public places (44.1%), followed
by school (25%) and home (15.1%). In the
case of gay men, public places are first
(39.5%), followed by school (31.4%), whereas
in the case of lesbians, public places are also
first (50%), but followed by home (18.4%). No
statistically significant differences in the victimization sites were observed between gay
men and lesbians.
Coinciding with the most frequent places of
victimization, the perpetrators of victimization
are frequently unknown individuals (38.5%),
schoolmates (19.9%), family members (10.9%),
and friends (9.6%); that is, the latter three were
close to the victims. In the case of gay men, the
authors of victimization are mostly unknown
(38.6%), followed by schoolmates (29.5%) and
friends and acquaint ances (12.5%), whereas in
the case of lesbians, the main authors of victimization are also unknown (38.2%), followed
by family members (17.6%). Although no statistically significant differences in the perpetrators of victimization are observed between gay
men and lesbians, the figures above confirm the
data on places of victimization.
Results show that 21.4% of gay men and
lesbians who are victimized because of their
sexual orientation do not report these events, indicating that they hide them rather than facing
them. Although all the gay men and lesbians interviewed have revealed their sexual orientation
to someone, revelation is not necessarily associated with reporting discrimination and victimization events. In addition, gay men and
lesbians share these experiences with friends
(49.4%), family members (32.5%), and partners (16.2%). Only 7.1% denounce them to
the police or in court. Most gay men report
these experiences to friends (50%) and family
members (24.4%), but 22.1% do not report
them; on the other hand, lesbians report them
to friends (48.5%) and family members
(42.6%), but 20.6% do not report them. Although no statistically significant differences
are found between gay men and lesbians regarding to whom they report the victimization,
some differences are observed: whereas gay
men report it more frequently to friends and family members, lesbians do so less frequently.
Lesbians report victimization by family members more frequently.
Finally, the violence stopped in only 2.7%
of the victimization events reported, while
18.9% were punished in some way. Results
also reveal that 36.5% of victimization events
were not punished in the case of both gay men
(36.6%) and lesbians (36.4%). No statistically
significant differences were observed between
gay men and lesbians regarding punishment of
the most serious victimization.
Discussion
First of all, the results indicate that an important proportion of those surveyed, both gay
men and lesbians, perceive discrimination and
victimization events, and that, in some cases
these events affect both groups similarly (for
example, insults and threats). However, the
findings also indicate that there are some
differences between the two groups in the
perception of discrimination and victimization
events. Therefore, these findings could suggest
that these events may not be equally distributed
between gay men and lesbians.
Regarding perceived discrimination events,
the results indicate significant differences between gay men and lesbians. Lesbians report
perceiving more discrimination than gay men
in three situations: entering or staying in a shop
or entertainment venue, having experienced
discrimination by security guards, and, finally,
having been discriminated against in getting a
job or being fired from a job.
In Chile, in large cities like Santiago, gay
men and lesbians may go to public places more
frequently, thus exposing themselves to more
discrimination. Therefore, the city favors freedom to live their own lives, but, at the same
time, it exposes subjects to more discrimination
and victimization. In Santiago and other cities
in the country, security guards control the entrances to many public places, and they maintain the security in many different contexts; the
number of guards has increased significantly in
recent years in Chile (Gobierno Regional Metropolitano de Santiago, 2012). Security guards are generally retired police officers or young
people who recently finished their military
service. According to a recent report, private
security in Chile is still considered by many as
a continuity of an armed forces career (Centro
de Investigación Periodística - CIPER -, 2013).
In both cases, retired police officers or young
people who have done their military service,
these men perform a type of hegemonic masculinity (Connell & Messerschmidt, 2005),
and they often act as guardians of this type of
masculinity. Therefore, based on prior studies,
as gay men would be expected to show a more
atypical gender appearance or behavior that
does not conform to the gender role expectations for men, they could experience more victimization than lesbians (Katz-Wise & Hyde,
2012). However, the data do not corroborate
this greater victimization of gay men. Thus, it
is likely that these men (security guards) act out
against lesbians in an effort to control and safeguard the fulfillment of the gender roles expected for women in Chilean culture, like those
of mother and wife (Barrientos, 2010). With the
recent anti-discrimination law passed in 2012, these types of events will probably decline, as
this law will protect sexual minorities from
discriminatory actions like the ones performed
by the guards. Furthermore, some studies suggest that while appearance is fundamental to
sexual identity, it is also potentially problematic
within the broader heterosexist society (Huxley,
2013). Research shows that many lesbians actively adopt particular appearance norms after
they come out, in order to be ‘read' as lesbians
(Krakauer & Rose, 2002). Some types of discrimination (for example: at work, in a shop or
local venues) may be related to physical appearance and be carried out by security guards,
and this type of discrimination could affect the
lesbian population because their image probably creates more hostility and explicit rejection
in a very sexist culture like Chile (Cárdenas et
al., 2012). However, future studies should examine these discrimination events to confirm
that they occur and affect the country's lesbians.
In Latin America, lesbians suffer discrimination in the workplace (ADEIM et al., 2006).
Moreover, various studies indicate that in Chile, women still suffer from greater job discrimination (Peña, 2011). In the case of lesbians, this
could correspond to a double type of discrimination: first for being women and, second, for
being lesbians.
Another interesting finding about the discrimination that affects both gay men and lesbians in Chile is that many subjects reported
discrimination in a religious environment. In
Chile, the church is one of the main institutions
that reproduce and sustain the hegemonic hetero-patriarchal model, linking non-heterosexuality to abnormality and giving heterosexual
men a place of privilege and moral supremacy
(Ruiz, 2011).
Regarding the differences in victimization
events between gay men and lesbians, the
results showed that gay men are more likely to
suffer verbal mockery-type victimization events than lesbians, which contradicts previous
findings indicating that gay men experience
more extreme levels of physical violence (Carbone-Lopez et al., 2010) and certain types of
victimization events (hold-up and robbery)
more than women (Katz-Wise & Hyde, 2012).
One possible explanation for this finding is
that verbal aggression is common toward men
who transgress the country's gender role expectations (Barrientos, Salinas, Rojas, & Meza,
2011). Homophobic terms like faggot have a
rich developmental history and play a central
role, for example, in adolescent male peergroup dynamics (Plummer, 2001). Jokes about
those who do not comply with gender role expectations are frequent among men and in male
social contexts on a national scale (Barrientos,
Salinas, Rojas, & Meza, 2011). Another relevant finding is that from the point of view of
gay men and lesbians, the victimization events
that are perceived as the most serious and important in their lives are not physical aggressions, which would be the case of gay men according to previous studies (Carbone-Lopez et
al., 2010), but rather insults, threats and jokes.
This finding is very important and might not be
well-understood outside of the Chilean context.
In our country, verbal violence is frequent and
practiced toward anyone who is different, and
it is a highly-reported form of perceived discrimination by diverse discriminated groups (Merino, Quilaqueo & Saiz, 2008). Moreover,
as some authors have pointed out (Parker, 2001,
p. 78), language is a "pernicious and powerful
tool", prejudice can have both an implicit and
explicit effect on language, and language plays
a critical role in every form of prejudice
(Collins & Clément, 2012). Likewise, anti-gay
men and lesbian language is one of many
mechanisms through which heterosexism is
enacted; it communicates hostility toward gay
men and lesbians and contributes to creating an
unwelcoming and unsafe environment for them
(Burn, 2000).
Moreover, the data reveal a greater presence
of sexual harassment of gay men than lesbians,
although these data are not statistically significant. A recent study in Chile using a probabilistic sample shows that, in a general population over 18 years old, 7.9% of men reported
some kind of sexual violence during childhood
or adolescence, 6.6% reported that someone
had touched their genitals or buttocks, and
4.3% revealed non-consensual sexual relations
(forced sex) (Aguayo, Correa, & Cristi, 2011).
The aforementioned study shows that the
Chilean concept of manhood is associated with
male heterosexuality, since 9 out of 10 men
(88.6%) and women (88.7%) interviewed
agreed with the statement a real man has sexual relations only with women (Aguayo et al.,
2011). Future studies should examine whether
this is a common pattern shared by Chilean gay
men, as a recent study about sexual violence in
young men and women in Chile indicated that
women reported a significantly greater prevalence of sexual victimization than men (31.2%
compared to 20.5%, from the age of 14 on; and
17.1% compared to 11.6%, in the past 12
months) (Lehrer, J. A., Lehrer, E. L., & Oyarzún,
2009).
Other interesting findings indicate that although most of the events reported occurred in
public places, which are associated with less
punishment, data on the home as a context for
violence and discrimination are relevant
because homes should provide safety and protection (Herrera, 2007). For example, this study
reveals some specifications about victimization toward lesbians, showing, as in other studies, that one of the relevant contexts of their victimization is daily family life. The family's rejection of sexuality and their victimization practices due to sexual orientation are among the
most salient stressors facing LGBT youths
(D'Augelli, 2002).
Limitations
This study has limitations. While the LGBT
pride parade provides a unique opportunity to
collect data from the LGBT population, as the
community tends to be concentrated in one
area for a brief period of time, there are also a
number of assumptions being made about the
data. To begin with, this sample is not representative of the Chilean LGBT community, as
a significant number of self-identified gay men
or lesbian individuals do not attend the pride
parade for a number of reasons, including possible fear of victimization. Additionally, this
sample fails to include individuals who may not
have come out and, therefore, do not attend the
parade. These individuals may be either more
or less susceptible to victimization, depending
on the arguments. Finally, individuals who attend the pride parade may express their sexuality differently, perhaps more openly than
other LGBT individuals,and this expression
may make them vulnerable to discrimination
and/or victimization. It may also make them
more aware of discrimination and/or victimization experiences.
A second limitation has to do with the lack
of additional measures, such as gender identity
measures regarding masculinity or femininity,
or different types of variables linked to minority stress (Meyer, 1995). In addition to sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression can greatly impact the likelihood of
discrimination and/or victimization (Sandfort, Melendez, & Diaz, 2007), especially in
the social context of Chile, which values traditional strict gender roles. Finally, the third limitation is the lack of multivariate analyses.
Research implications
An important place where gay men and,
particularly lesbians, are discriminated is at workplaces. Future studies will have to investigate the impact of discrimination due to sexual orientation in a work context.
Future studies should further examine
whether verbal mockery-type victimization and
its impact on the gay men population is a common pattern of victimization toward the country's LGBT population. Likewise, it would be
necessary to study whether other relevant dimensions in the country, such as social class
and religion, contribute to experiencing this
type of victimization.
Considering the type of context in Chile,
where heterosexism is the norm, it would be
necessary to examine atypical gender roles and
their impact on discrimination and victimization in greater depth.
This study used a convenience sample of
gay men and lesbians. Future studies should include other types of samples, such as Respondent Driven Samples or other similar samples
(Cárdenas & Yañez, 2012), to collect information about discrimination and victimization in
the Chilean LGBT population.
This study used only some types of measures associated with discrimination and victimization. Future studies measuring minority
stress would make it possible to control internalized homophobia, which may increase or
decrease an individual's sensitivity to perceived
victimization and / or discrimination.
This study was descriptive. Future studies
should include new variables and models predicting discrimination or victimization outcomes. Finally, future studies should examine
life-long issues, such as violence toward the
LGBT population, in depth. Thus, longitudinal
studies should be conducted to understand violence toward this population better (Institute
of Medicine, 2011).
Clinical and political implications
This paper addresses discrimination and
victimization toward gay men and lesbians in
Chile. Considering the impact of homophobia
on people's lives (Meyer, 1995), the impact of
this violence on physical and mental health
and gay men and lesbians' quality of life should
be studied in depth.
The design of public policies in health and
other areas must include data from populations
affected by violence. For example, the gay men
population and other groups are considered
HIV vulnerable. Current data from Latin America and the Caribbean confirm this vulnerability (Cáceres, 2002), and violence could even increase it (Parker, 2012).
Therefore, progress in describing and characterizing violence and understanding possible
discrimination and victimization patterns toward gay men and lesbians may be useful for
focusing efforts to decrease vulnerability to
risk and violence, as well as increasing quality
of life.
Finally, in Chile, there are still therapists
who consider homosexuality as an illness and
apply reconversive therapies, thus contributing
to stigmatization and violence toward sexual
minorities (Barrientos & Cárdenas, 2013).
Therefore, this study may contribute to the
training of future therapists and health personnel attending to gay men and lesbians, since
sexual minorities have reported that they face
various barriers that prevent them from having
equal access to health services, a fact that could
have a great impact on their quality of life (Institute of Medicine, 2011).
An antidiscrimination law that includes sexual orientation was passed in 2012. In this context, the parade is one of the few collective occasions for Chile's citizens to express other
sexualities different from the heterosexual
norm, thus becoming a social and political opportunity to present their demands and unrest.
Therefore, the data from this study could be
used to direct public policies, policy makers,
social scientists, the LGBT movement, and
legislation on these issues, integrating the views
of the population affected by the discriminatory
treatment.
Conclusions
Considering the differences in discrimination and victimization found between gay men and lesbians in Chile: Do gay men experience more discrimination and victimization events than lesbians? Are there two different patterns of discrimination and victimization or, instead, a general one that affects both gay men and lesbians in Chile? The data are not conclusive. They indicate that there are many similarities in the discrimination and victimization events perceived by gay men and lesbians, but they also reveal two different patterns. Therefore, the existence of a differentiated pattern of discrimination and victimization between gay men and lesbians should be confirmed by future studies.
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Escuela de Psicología
Universidad Católica del Norte
Antofagasta - Chile
Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques (INED)
Paris - France
Fecha de recepción: 9 de abril de 2014
Fecha de aceptación: 20 de agosto de 2014