COMING OUT OF THE “IVORY TOWER”: PREVENTING LGBTPHOBIA AT THE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

Violence against the LGBT population is a topic that plagues countless people who do not fit into the socially established heteronormative pattern. Studies indicate that the university, being inserted in society, reproduces this form of violence by not creating effective prevention strategies and overcoming this phenomenon within it. Supported by dialogic learning and the Communicative Methodology, this article presents the results of an investigation that sought to point out, from the understanding of undergraduate students, the way in which a public university in the state of São Paulo works to combat LGBTphobia in its spaces, identifying the excluding and transforming elements that are capable of promoting, preventing and overcoming violence against LGBT people. As a result, this research indicates that the public positioning of the management of these universities is needed, and that they establish policies to combat violence, as well as training spaces on the subject for students, professors and other employees throughout the academic field.