LGBTIQA+ is a continually evolving acronym that refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and/ or questioning and asexual and/ or ally. The plus sign represents diverse sex, gender and sexual identities that lie outside of LGBTIQA. It can be difficult for people who identify as LGBTIQA+ to feel accepted in rural communities owing to the dominance of conservative values, including the maintenance of traditional family structures and gender roles. This can lead LGBTIQA+ people to experience heightened levels of social isolation, exclusion, discrimination and marginalization in rural settings.

Whilst a growing body of literature considers the unique issues and challenges of LGBTIQA+ people in rural settings, further research into how rurality and LGBTIQA+ status bear on offending, victimization and criminal justice responses is needed. An intersectional approach is also required in considering how age, race, ethnicity, class, disability and so on shape the criminal justice experiences of LGBTIQA+ individuals in rural areas.

Towards a rural queer criminology

The voices and experiences of people who identify as LGBTIQA+ have been largely ignored within traditional criminological enquiry. Where mainstream criminology has examined the experiences of LGBTIQA+ people, it has assumed deviant and deficiency-centred approaches which serve to further marginalize and stigmatize sex, gender and sexuality non-conforming people (see both Fileborn, 2019 and Dwyer et al, 2015).

Queer criminology has responded to these historical oversights by examining issues including – but not limited to – the criminalization of same-sex relationships, hate crime victimization amongst people who identify as LGBTIQA+, intimate partner violence in LGBTIQA+ relationships and tensions between police and LGBTIQA+ people. However, the focus of queer criminology has been predominately urban-centric, with a paucity of literature considering the criminal justice experiences of LGBTIQA+ individuals in rural settings. In view of this, there have been recent calls for a rural queer criminology that addresses the criminal justice experiences of people who identify as LGBTIQA+ and how rurality bears on these experiences.

Victimization experiences

People who identify as LGBTIQA+ are at a heightened risk of hate crime victimization. This is true of urban settings, but the risk is amplified in rural contexts.