Out at Cambridge

This project investigated LGBTQ+ identity disclosure at the University of Cambridge.

Researchers: Prof. Sarah Franklin (PI), Elisabeth Sandler, MSc, MPhil

• Read the Report
• Check out the videos
• Members of the team

The Report

The 2018 Stonewall Report on discrimination towards LGBTQ+ students at British universities suggested that 42% disguise or conceal their LGBTQ+ identities due to fear of hostile or unwelcome reactions to disclosure. Based on this report, we wanted to explore how students and staff at the University of Cambridge manage their LGBTQ+ identities within the university community.

In order to find out more about factors that contribute to comfort and discomfort to disclose, the meaning given to ‘being out’ at the University of Cambridge, and individual as well as institutional consequences of LGBTQ+ disclosure and concealment, researcher Elisabeth Sandler conducted 55 semi-structured interviews in Spring 2019. The report was then published in October 2019.

This report is being used to encourage policy and welfare changes to make universities and other workplaces safer spaces and to keep supporting and enabling resources that already make a difference to LGBTQ+ identifying students and staff. 

Read it in full here

The videos

We produced a series of videos, led by Elisabeth Sandler, in order to find out about individual's experiences of the report on being out at Cambridge. You can watch each of them below, or via the playlist:

Playlist of Out at Cam videos

The Team

Team photo: 
Dr Marcin Smietana, Dr Robert Pralat, Professor Sarah Franklin,
Elisabeth Sandler & Heather Stallard