HARASSMENT CONSULTATION CENTER NEWS
Vol. 30, January 2022 Issue
Have you all ever heard of the term "LGBTQ+" before? "LGBTQ+" is anexpression used to refer to sexual minorities, consisting of an acronym made upof the first letter of the sexual orientations and gender identities listed below
and a "+" indicating that there are more sexual orientations and gender
identities aside from those included in the acronym. In recent years, theexpression "SOGI" — an acronym made by combining the first letters of “SexualOrientation Gender Identity” — has also been used to place emphasis on thefact that each and every person, whether inside or outside of the LGBTQ+community, has their own sexual orientation and gender identity. Moreover, any
harassment towards LGBTQ+ persons is sometimes referred to as "SOGI
harassment". (In the "Nagoya University Missions and Guidelines for LGBT+inclusive Practices" used at Nagoya University, the term "LGBT+" is used)(https://www.nagoya-u.ac.jp/about-nu/upload_images/guideline03162021_en.pdf

Gender Identity

Sexual Orientation"Sexual orientation" is a term used to refer to what
gender(s) a person is attracted to.
For example：

LLesbianFemale homosexuality(An individual who identifies themselves as female
and is sexually and/or romantically attracted tofemales)

GGay

Male homosexuality(An individual who identifies themselves as maleand is sexually and/or romantically attracted tomales))

Gender identity refers to an individual's
understanding of their own gender. Many
people have a gender identity that matches their“biological sex” but there are others who feel
uncomfortable with their body because their"biological sex" and "gender identity" do notalign.
For example：

TTransgender

An individual who feels uncomfortable with
their "biological sex" because their "biologicalsex" and "gender identity" do not align. For
example, an individual whose "biological sex" ismale but whose "gender identity" is female.

Cisgender

B

Bisexual

Sexual attraction to more than one gender(An individual who is sexually and/or romanticallyattracted to both males and females)

Heterosexual
Sexual attraction to the opposite gender(An individual who is sexually and/or romanticallyattracted to the opposite gender)

An individual whose gender identity matches
their biological sex.

Q

Questioning

There are some sexual minorities, even thoseother than LGBT, who do not belong to any
specific categories, such as individuals who are
not sexually or romantically attracted to any
gender, or are not able to choose, do not wish todecide on, or simply do not know their gender.

Asexual（33 people）0.8%

Don’t want to decide/
Haven’t decided（222 people）5.2%

Don’t understandNo response
the question（48 people）1.1%（322 people）7.5%

Bisexual（62 people）
1.4％
Gay/Lesbian（31 people）
0.7％
No response（14 people）0.3%

Transgender（32 people）
0.7%

Heterosexual(3,567 people) 83.2％
Does not identify as transgender（4,239 people）98.9%

Gender Identity

Sexual Orientation

Graph: The percentages of respondents’ sexual orientation (right) and gender identity (lower left) (N=4285)
Sexuality Osaka Residents Questionnaire"Coming out": Admitting to being LGBTQ+
Sometimes an individual has no choice but to hide their private or personal business, suchas their sexuality, due to discrimination/prejudice by society and a lack of understanding
from those around them. Such a situation is commonly likened to "being forced into acloset". "Coming out" refers to openly declaring their sexual orientation and/or gender
identity that they have never previously made public. When somebody “comes out,” it isoften associated with the worry that this action can damage their relationships with others.
Whether or not an individual comes out, as well as when, to whom, and how they comeout, should all be decided by the individual concerned, and is not something that should beforced by others around them.
Prejudice and discrimination towards LGBTQ+ are sexual/SOGI harassment.
If discriminatory words such as "homo", "fag" and "lesbo" etc. are used at schools orworkplaces, it creates an atmosphere that makes it difficult for individuals to come out,
even if they want to.
There is a deep-rooted belief in society that "gender" is either "male or female" and thathaving a "romantic/sexual interest" in the "opposite gender" is "normal". Hence, there canbe a tendency to consider "not being normal" as "wrong" or "bad". This may lead to beingbullied or taunted by others, which can then lead victims to self-harm, depression, andeven suicide. In addition, due to the lack of understanding around LGBTQ+, they can be on
the receiving end of unfair and detrimental treatment, such as sexual/SOGI harassment at
school or the workplace or facing difficulties when moving on to higher education or
during the job-hunting process.

Understand LGBTQ+ and become an ally!！
Do you know the term "ally"? "Ally" is a word that means to "take a person's side",and by further extension refers to people who understand and support LGBTQ+.
Being an ally does not mean you have to participate in a particular activity. If
somebody close to you is questioning their sexuality or confides in you about it, justaccepting them for who they are and listening to them is considered taking action as
an ally.
Genders are diverse. It is an important issue related to the dignity of every
individual. Let's create a society where every person is able to have their sexual
orientation and gender identity respected and live out their lives while being true tothemselves.
Every person has their own gender(s), not just limited to those who are LGBTQ+.
Thus, we should reconsider the diverse sexualities as something that involves
everyone.
We are currently soliciting names for the official
Harassment Consultation Center characters!
Please visit the Harassment Consultation Center’s Facebook for details!

AlpacaTibetan Fox

ShoebillA leader who always looks out for everybody around it,
and also affectionately stands close to them at all times.
It takes part in consultations and training activities withcounselors and is a reliable colleague who affectionately
stands by people suffering from harassment.
It was impudent and cunning and used to steal animal preyfrom others, so it was called a "harasser" by those around
it. However, it reflected on its own actions after taking
harassment training and consequently became a peer
supporter to help others who are facing the samedifficulties it once had.
Even if harassment was taking place around it, it used tochoose to turn a blind eye because it did not want tobecome a victim itself. Upon reflecting on its own role as abystander, it became a peer supporter after some advice
from Alpaca.

Nagoya University Harassment Consultation Center
Tel: 052-789-5806
Address: 464-8601 Furo-cho Chikusa-ku Nagoya
h-help@adm.nagoya-u.ac.jp