INTRODUCTION

In recent years, alarming rates of increased violence have been recorded in Brazil (Alfageme, 2019), a factor that directly affects socially vulnerable groups such as women, black people, indigenous peoples, and lesbian, gay, binary, trans people, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/aromantic/agender, pan/poly, non-binary and more, called by the acronym LGBTQIAPN+. The university, as a space inserted in society and being directly affected by it, also reflects such social tensions and conflicts.

The notable advance in the democratization of access to Brazilian universities has given rise to new movements within higher education institutions (HEIs) and, with this, new demands. The struggles to guarantee student access and permanence to respect diversity and differences, the understanding of other epistemologies, the promotion of spaces for dialogue, and the construction of specific policies for different social groups, among others, transformed the university space, contributing to a new, more colorful, and diverse spectrum. On the other hand, this inclusive process, induced by important public policies, also generated many conflicts. After all, there are many reports of violence, attempts to circumvent the vacancy reservation system, isolation, and various prejudices, an increase in cases of suicide and illness, among other factors that occur in academic spaces.

In the specific case of prejudice and violence experienced by the LGBTQIAPN+ population, we highlight that, even with the advances driven by public policies in Brazil³, this debate still requires specific studies that highlight the recurrent types of violence, as well as the most efficient actions to overcome and prevent it. This is justified because prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity, and violence, are important categories in understanding the sociopolitical dynamics experienced by this population in all areas of society.

In this research, violence is understood as any attack that aims to cause damage, whether institutional, psychological, sexual, physical, or material to groups or certain institutions (^{Krug, 2002}, p. 4). In the scope of this study, it is the university.

Also, violence against LGBTQIAPN+ people can be defined as the grouping of some desires, such as disgust, fear, discomfort, anger, etc. (^{Junqueira, 2007}). These people suffer such violence in different social spaces - from their homes, religious centers, streets, and schools to sectors of public power (^{Mott, 2006}). We highlight that it is in these same spaces of social coexistence that people are socialized and formed, that is, they become citizens, which leads us to reflect on the impact of structured prejudices in force in the formation of individuals under the stigmas of racism, machismo, cisheteronormativity, etc.

Mentioning the academic sphere, the discussions and scientific research centered on homosexuality initiated by Alfred ^{Kinsey (1948}, 1953) and his team were notorious. The so called “homosexual behavior” was highlighted as a more recurrent phenomenon than was recognized at the time. These innovative investigations enabled a broad understanding of sexuality, resulting, above all, in the action of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1990, to remove homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses (Nishiwaki Da Silva, 2020). In this sense, recent studies stand out that elucidate the growing dialogue between LGBTQIAPN+ themes and current society, as well as in the context of health (^{Smalley et al., 2017}; Gallardo-Nieto et al., 2021), religiosity (^{Hunt, 2016}), technologies (^{Siebler, 2016}), the sociology of work (^{Williams; Dellinger, 2010}) and even the perspectives and challenges of carrying out research focusing on the LGBTQIAPN+ population (Serrano Amaya; Ríos González, 2019). According to Serrano Amaya and Rios González (2019), LGBTQIAPN+ issues have become a subject of greater visibility for international research, and this was mainly due to the demands of various movements for social transformation.

However, for the construction of this study, the previous bibliographical survey we carried out allowed us to identify the incipience of work that points to effective actions to prevent and overcome violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population. In this aspect, presenting the discussion of this topic, at a challenging time and with threats against LGBTQIAPN+ people - given the growing presence of far-right governments and movements in recent years -, becomes urgent and fundamental. At a national level, for example, many conservative demonstrations recently used the term “gender ideology” to stop and invalidate advances focused on the social rights of the LGBTQIAPN+ population and that had significant repercussions in the educational sphere. In this article, we seek to analyze in a communicative and dialogical way violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population and its overcoming and prevention in university settings, considering that this group is the target of numerous rights violations.

THEORETICAL REFERENCE

Contemporary society allows individuals multiple options and choices, as well as new possibilities of life and behavior, making them protagonists in their biographies (^{Giddens, 1993}). Thus, pre-determined patterns of action in the world become questionable, and society is forced to create inclusive alternatives that can overcome individualistic models, with new forms of social relations based on dialogue and arguments (^{Flecha; Gómez; Puigvert, 2001}). This new configuration is the starting point for reflections on education and overcoming violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population.

In this context, education constitutes a central element, as it can enable a new form of socialization based on dialogue (^{Gómez, 2004}). Different social agents and education professionals have strived to develop theories and new practices that can contribute to discussions around the democratization of society, in general, and schools, in specific. Within this framework, dialogical learning is found, a theoretical reference of this paper.

Dialogical learning has an interdisciplinary focus and is based on the main theories and scientific investigations at an international level. This theoretical perspective analyzes social challenges and seeks alternatives to overcome them through a consistent critique of the current global context and the establishment of supportive and egalitarian practices. Dialogical learning, based on ^{Habermas (1987}), understands that arguments must be based on claims to validity, overcoming relationships based on positions of power. In this way, it assumes that social relations need to be anchored in communicative actions in which decision-making is the result of a dialogue between all people involved in the process since all individuals can reflect on their lives and the context in which they are inserted to transform it.

Dialogical learning is a conceptual paradigm that gives rise to a transformative way of learning, both inside and outside schools, pointing out ways for a society that is also capable of overcoming social inequalities (^{Mello; Braga; Gabassa, 2020}). This approach is based on seven principles: equal dialogue; cultural intelligence; transformation; creation of meaning; solidarity; equality of differences; and the instrumental dimension. In this sense, it applies a transformative character to scientific practice, called by ^{Freire (2008}) as praxis.

METHODOLOGY

Consistent with the theoretical framework, we use the Communicative Methodology, which seeks to reconcile scientific knowledge and concrete possibilities for transformation with individuals involved in various social processes (^{Gómez et al., 2006}). This methodology comprises and organizes the process and scientific knowledge, involving, in addition to the researcher, the individuals participating in the research in the process of reflection, data analysis, and elaboration of results, who must be committed to the transformation of the social reality in which they are included (Gómez et al., 2006).

Data collection took place through the procedures provided for in the Communicative Methodology called the communicative life report⁴ and the communicative discussion group⁵. Due to the need for social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, the steps were carried out remotely, recorded, and transcribed in full.

Therefore, we interviewed undergraduate students to map the forms of violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population at the university, as well as the measures that guarantee the prevention and overcoming of violence and prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity. The research was submitted in April 2020 to the Research Ethics Committee (CEP) of the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), linked to the National Research Ethics Committee (CONEP) of the National Health Council, and approved in June 2020 with opinion number 4,076,285. Initially, 18 students who declared LGBTQIAPN+ participated in the research, responding to an online form that was sent to the entire student body of a degree course⁶. After accepting the free and informed consent form and completing the questions on the form, 10 of the 18 people agreed to participate in the subsequent phases.

In the table below, it is possible to notice the diversity among the people who agreed to continue with the research.

The choice of the HEIs was because of the role that this university assumed in the construction of affirmative actions, having approved, in 2016, a document that broadly deals with the “Policy of Affirmative Actions, Diversity, and Equity” (PAADE - Política de Ações Afirmativas, Diversidade e Equidade), which proposes guidelines for groups socially marginalized by society and who, with the advancement of public inclusion policies, have entered this higher education institution.

PAADE was approved by the University Council (Consuni)⁸, the highest deliberation body of the academic community, to reaffirm the institution's commitment to valuing diversity and promoting equity through actions that enable the construction of a fair and equitable environment. In this sense, the university was one of the first Brazilian HEIs to propose consistent and effective protection actions for vulnerable populations such as the LGBTQIAPN+ community, even in an adverse context⁹.

This document shows a historical overview of ethnic-racial relations, inclusion and accessibility, gender and sexual diversity, and proposes guidelines for these groups, aimed at both the student and teaching communities as well as male and female employees who work in the various spaces within the institution and/or beyond.

Finally, we highlight that the identification and description of the practices and processes investigated through two dimensions were incorporated into the categories of analysis of the data obtained: exclusionary dimension and transformative dimension. These categories allow the results obtained to point out the limitations and possible transformations in the face of social challenges, “ensuring the social usefulness of the study carried out” (^{Flecha, 2004}, p. 47). This is because we start from the assumption that the way people move in the world reveals their understanding of social processes, which must be radically included in research. Thus, academic knowledge is an important instrument for understanding social facts, but it cannot be considered as the only legitimate path.

RESULTS

The study lasted one year, between 2020 and 2021. Of the 18 people who were initially interested in contributing to the research, 10 agreed to carry out the communicative discussion groups and, later, the communicative life reports. After transcribing the speeches, we analyzed and classified the data into four main axes: 1) violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity suffered and/or witnessed; 2) knowledge or not of PAADE; 3) university as a space to promote and/or prevent violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population; and 4) instrumental dimension as a tool for overcoming and preventing violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population at the university.

DATA ANALYSIS: BEYOND THE WALLS

The four axes mentioned above point to relevant paths to preventing and overcoming violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population in HEIs.

The data obtained in the first axis - violence based on suffered and/or witnessed sexual orientation or gender identity - converge with surveys carried out in research on violence in the university context, which demonstrate that female students are the main victims in the most varied ways of violence, including sexual and physical harassment and violence, coercion, and even intellectual disqualification (^{Scavone; Alvarez, 2015}). Furthermore, a more recent study highlights that, in universities, female people, who identify as black and homosexual, are up to six times more likely to suffer some form of violence than male people identified as white and heterosexual (^{Montrone, 2020}).

In the second and third axes - knowledge or not of PAADE and the university as a space for promoting and/or preventing violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population -, we note how the role of university management is fundamental in the face of cases of violence based on sexual diversity and gender in HEIs. International studies point out that the lack of applicability of protocols and sanctions in cases of such violence, as well as the lack of monitoring by the institution when these cases are reported, not only favor the perpetuation of such violence but also place the victim in a situation of revictimization (^{Blanco; Spataro, 2019}).

Regarding the breakdown of the fourth axis - referring to tools for overcoming and preventing violence - 88% of people responding to the online form demonstrated that they had never participated in or known anyone who participated in events, lectures, and/or specific disciplines in the course schedule or optional options that directly address the LGBTQIAPN+ theme. At the same time, this same percentage expressed that one of the most effective ways to combat prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity would be to structure knowledge focused on the issues of this population, capable of bringing to the academic community and, consequently, its surroundings, instruments that could provide people with information to combat this form of prejudice and violence. The following statements express this concern:

I realize that past generations did not have the opportunity to understand differences, and diversity: they were taught to hate, taught to be repulsed, to have aversion... And the most difficult thing about learning something is unlearning it because deconstructing it is a process that hurts and no one wants to touch a wound, no one wants to touch their ego. Therefore, when we provide information in a well-structured way, with appropriate, qualified speech, I believe that people can learn. I believe that Education can be one of the prevention tools, it is not the main responsibility but through it, we can change people's reality, based on good information, structuring all this knowledge, and providing a language that reaches people but without imposing things on others, because this is the big problem, there has to be dialogue with society, and often we don't have dialogue with the community (Gisberta Salce Júnior¹⁵, 2021).

In the theoretical scope, we highlight that egalitarian dialogue, critical reflection and the knowledge historically accumulated by humanity are essential instruments for people. In addition to a more comprehensive understanding of the realities in which each person is inserted, the individual also develops a more critical and, therefore, transformative thinking (^{Aubert et al., 2018}). Furthermore, the research data indicates that egalitarian dialogue, by including the contributions of all people based on the validity of their arguments and not on the position of power that everyone occupies, contributes to the process of reflection and decision-making on issues related to violence. In this sense, all people are included with the intention of consensus and conflict resolution (^{Elboj et al., 2002}). Thus, egalitarian dialogue promotes the radical democratization of society, as it allows the participation of all people in the community.

In this sense, we consider that the results reinforce one of the seven principles of dialogic learning, the instrumental dimension. This principle aims to guarantee people humanistic and technical tools, essential elements that enable the individual to live in their context (^{Aubert et al., 2018}). As the data presented in the previous section and the highlighted report indicate, it is necessary to break the false dichotomy between the humanistic dimension and the instrumental dimension so that we can overcome violence promoted based on sexual orientation or gender identity. We also highlight that the international scientific community has been indicating for some years the relationship between the instrumental dimension and overcoming educational and social inequalities (Ladson-Billings, 1995; ^{Apple; Beane, 1997}). From the perspective of dialogical learning, the humanistic dimension and the instrumental dimension must be worked on mutually, and the reinforcement of each of them contributes to overcoming violence. Thus, if we recover the other principles of dialogical learning for the analysis of violence based on sexual orientation or gender identity, we realize that the instrumental dimension is directly related to egalitarian dialogue and cultural intelligence through promoting the diversification of interactions, as well as the creation of new meanings through dialogue that favor the prevention of violence.

In this way, having access to specific knowledge on the LGBTQIAPN+ theme - such as the history of the struggles of the LGBTQIAPN+ population, statistical data on violence and death, information about the treatment of transvestites, transsexuals and non-binary people, etc. - highlights the transformative perspective of systematized knowledge and, more than that, that knowledge about the LGBTQIAPN+ community, propagated by the institution or in courses and training spaces, is a fundamental element for preventing violence.

Also, access to knowledge produced in HEIs guarantees important and indispensable tools for social transformations. In this study, we observed the absence of transgender and transvestite people responding to the form, which reinforces the estimate that this group represents only 0.1% of a total of 420 thousand students at federal universities, as pointed out by the survey carried out in 2018 by the National Association of Directors of Federal Higher Education Institutions (Andifes - Associação Nacional dos Dirigentes das Instituições Federais de Ensino Superior), in partnership with the National Forum of Pro-Rectors for Community and Student Affairs (Fonaprace - Fórum Nacional de Pró-reitores de Assuntos Comunitários e Estudantis) (^{Gomes; Faheina; Ker, 2019}). We highlight that the absence of this group in university spaces tends to marginalize them and make access to the job market and other experiences that guarantee the necessary tools to transform their reality even more difficult, especially in Brazil, where the homicide rate of this group is the largest globally (^{Dos Santos, 2019}; ^{Mendes; Silva, 2020}). On the other hand, in recent years we have observed the movement, albeit gradually, of some federal universities in adopting quotas and specific policies to make the access of transsexual and transvestite people to higher education in Brazil effective (^{Ribeiro, 2020}; Dos Passos, 2022).

Based on the data obtained, after transcribing the communicative discussion groups and communicative life reports, it was possible to survey the elements that act both in promoting, preventing, and overcoming violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the university context. The table below lists these elements, classified as exclusionary and transformative (^{Gómez et al., 2006}), as well as the incidence in which they appear in the participants' speech.

When looking at Table 2, it is possible to identify that university management¹⁶ is identified as the main exclusionary element in promoting violence against LGBTQIAPN+ people. The following statement qualifies a diagnosis that is common among all people participating in the research:

It all starts with management. I think that whoever is responsible for this dialogue if that person boycotts this [reports in case of violence], it weakens any other force that tries to do something. If management embraces this group [LGBTQIAPN+], it will make things much easier. There is a lack of publicity to show that things exist, to show that things are being put into practice. In cases of violence, we don't know where to turn... We naturalize it because if it doesn't appear then it's because it doesn't exist. This happens outside the university too. Several laws and decrees should facilitate or bring social improvements but are not put into practice. Therefore, publicity and the support network must come from management… (Diego Vieira Machado, 2021).

Therefore, in the absence of actions by university management aimed at welcoming LGBTQIAPN+ people, sanctions measures for aggressors, and support for victims - as pointed out by 70% of participants -, the need arises for a group that acts as a support network for LGBTQIAPN+ people within the university. In this aspect, because of this study, we initiated an articulation with the participating people, to analyze the forms of organization and which actions could be promoted by an LGBTQIAPN+ group building a support network that deals with the issue and act to prevent and overcome violence against this population at the university. However, the construction of this group does not minimize or transfer the obligation of university management, which must act in favor of the entire academic community, aiming not only at institutional recognition at an international level or the quality of its teaching but also at well-being, safety and equity of the people who work there.

The denaturalization of violence and prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity is another factor that deserves to be highlighted in the fight against violence against LGBTQIAPN+ people in HEIs. Recent international studies, such as that by Gallardo-Neto et al. (2021) and ^{Dueñas et al. (2021}), point out that universities tend to naturalize violence against LGBTQIAPN+ people, especially in classrooms, and this violence often occurs in the presence of professors, when they are not exactly the ones who commit this aggression. A statement from one of the interviews carried out shows this issue:

I don't feel safe at university, I don't feel safe being with other people or taking classes with certain professors, because when I was harassed, I was in a circle of students and with the professor who harassed me, and it all happened very quickly, I didn't even realize what happened, I realized it only later and I did not react. I was in the classroom at nine o'clock in the morning! I keep thinking: to what extent do these aggressors feel free from any guilt, free from the fact that nothing will happen to them? (Gisberta Salce Júnior, 2021).

In this sense, we understand that, in the fight against violence against LGBTQIAPN+ people at universities, the public positioning of university management is crucial to preventing violence against this population in their spaces. Gallardo-Neto et al. (2021) highlight that it is necessary to promote the training of students, educational agents, and other employees on the subject to effectively combat prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity in the university context, in addition to awareness-raising measures that can guarantee respect for diversity.

Also, as ^{Milkman (2017}) points out, HEIs, in the last five decades, have served as instruments of awareness for various struggles regarding class, race, gender, etc., leading people, especially self-declared LGBTQIAPN+, to conform as leaders of social movements inside and outside university walls, as is the case of the American anti-sexual assault movement on campus, in which lesbian, bisexual and trans women are overrepresented as leaders, and the Black Lives Matter movement, founded by three black women, two of whom are members of the LGBTQIAPN+ community.

Therefore, we realize that, in addition to its relevant role in the production of knowledge, the university is the scene of various struggles and resistances. Once university management is aligned with the demands of the LGBTQIAPN+ population, together they will be able to prevent violence that permeates classrooms, and relationships between peers, professors, TAs, and other male and female employees, Also they will establish, through education, the commitment to providing all people with properly structured knowledge and information based on scientific evidence that can overcome violence and prejudice against this population, which have their roots in ignorance.

FINAL CONSIDERATIONS

With the democratization of access to higher education in Brazilian universities, new groups and, consequently, new social challenges became part of the reality of these spaces, which present the contradictions that permeate the social, political, and economic reality of the country. We know that the university is not free from forms of oppression and violence and, in this sense, through the case study of a public university that was one of the pioneers in the development and implementation of equity and diversity policies, we seek to understand the ways of preventing and overcoming violence and prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity present in the university context.

The research showed that the lack of knowledge and information is one of the main factors that promote violence and prejudice towards LGBTQIAPN+ people at universities. Furthermore, the neglect of university management in propagating knowledge of institutional policies on equality and equity for socially excluded groups shows that its elaboration does not become effective since it is still far from the daily life of the academic community.

Therefore, in this research we seek, together with the participating individuals, to understand in a broader way the violence suffered by the LGBTQIAPN+ population, who have fought with their lives to achieve the advancement of rights that are common to all people. Focusing on the university environment, we seek to identify and build tools that are effective in combating violence based on sexual and gender diversity, to make this space a safe and equal place. The data indicate that, while the discussion on the LGBTQIAPN+ theme decreases, cases of violence against this community increase, indicating that the absence of discussions that deal with LGBTQIAPN+ experiences, inside and outside university spaces, creates barriers, builds prejudices, and stops the engagement of the academic community and management in the fights for equality and the end of prejudice.

Although this case study was limited to presenting data that reflect violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population, focused only on the student body and did not include professors, TAs, and other male and female employees who are also victims and/or spectators of violent actions and prejudiced in academic spaces, it is essential that in future research, such as the ones we are developing, there is the joint participation of the university community to contribute even more effectively to the identification of tools and strategies that can overcome and prevent violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ population in universities.

We highlight that the preparation of this investigation triggered the research entitled Prevention of Violence against the LGBTQIAPN+ community in Brazilian Universities (Prevenção de Violência contra a comunidade LGBTQIAPN+ nas Universidades Brasileiras), financed by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), selected in Call CNPq/MCTI/FNDCT No. 18/2021 - Universal 2021, process nº 409811/2021-1, to continue with this research agenda, aiming to identify how Brazilian public universities act to prevent and overcome prejudice based on sexual and gender diversity in their spaces.

It is important to highlight that the area of Education - which in the last period has suffered numerous budgetary and ideological attacks from the Brazilian government - plays a fundamental role in the transformation of society because it is an area that produces studies on forms of teaching, learning, structuring and effective systematization of knowledge. It is up to it, together with other areas of knowledge, to collaborate so that the world becomes a place of dialogue and equality of differences, where there can be respect, solidarity, and constant transformation.