Lesbian Safety Talk: Problematizing Definitions and Experiences of Violence, Sexuality and Space

Abstract

The `Violence, Sexuality and Space' Research Project is the first major research project in Britain to explore how `safe', `public' spaces are created and sustained in response to homophobic violence. The research presented here examines lesbian safety talk and centres on lesbian focus group participants' responses to headline findings from a large-scale survey. The article illustrates the complexities involved in defining and interpreting violence and safety. It highlights the temporal and relative context of space, together with the importance of subjective, social and ideological constructions of violence and safety. The impact of sexuality on risk assessment and safety strategies is discussed alongside the influence of gender presentation, gender deviation and interpretative frameworks.