Queer students in Kolkata campuses cope with safety concerns

On June 25, 2025, Kolkata witnessed a heinous crime of sexual violence against a female student within campus premises. The incident took place in one of the esteemed law colleges in the city. The victim reported being sexually assaulted by a former student-turned-non-teaching staff member of the college itself. Since his college days, the accused had gained notoriety for similar offences. His association with the student wing of the ruling party of West Bengal was probably instrumental in his remaining unscathed despite previous police cases.

On the day of the crime, the accused, along with two current students of the college, is reported to have committed the crime in the security guard’s room. The three were aided by the security guard on duty. Little over a year ago, the gruesome sexual assault and murder of a postgraduate resident physician within the premises of R. G. Kar Medical College and Hospital blew the cover off the lack of security for women and deep-seated corruption in government educational institutions. The incident shocked and unnerved the entire nation, but despite public outrage against the state government, legal proceedings in the matter, and purported security measures put in place by the government, little seems to have changed. Incidents of sexual assault against women in educational institutions and more generally seem to be occurring repeatedly.

The pattern of sexual violence within the premises of educational institutions raises multifaceted concerns of safety, role of institutional authority, justice and a growing atmosphere of normalized intolerance and violence against vulnerable sections of society. These include not just women but also queer persons who have to deal with social stigma, violence, lack of full and effective legal rights, and widespread discrimination. The rise of such crimes being committed within educational spaces and a lack of prompt action against the guilty by the institutional authorities has raised fear, suspicion and anger amongst the queer communities in Kolkata, especially the students.

Sexual violence, queerness and precarity

Rain (name changed for anonymity), a non-binary trans student from a reputed college in North Kolkata, who has been closely observing the law college and R. G. Kar Medical College incidents and actively participating in some of the protests, shares their anxiety. They say, “Being queer can be an isolating experience. I haven’t disclosed this aspect of my life to my family or neighbours. My college is the only place where I can freely express myself and interact with other queer people from across West Bengal.” But the repeated incidents of sexual violence in educational institutions have made Rain fearful and feel helpless. Despite being vocal about injustices, they have started to withdraw themselves from the protests in fear of being targeted.

Rain has also observed a general rise of intolerance as political parties in their college have clashed publicly within the premises. Their anxiety of being outed, assaulted and receiving no help from their family or college authorities has made them extremely cautious.

Similar accounts have been reported by other queer students across the city. Many of them studying in rather conservative institutions have already experienced alienation, bullying and threats of assault because of their queerness. With the rise of violent crimes within campus premises, these students fear that verbal threats will accelerate to physical abuse as it is slowly becoming commonplace. Arjo (not their real name), a queer trans masculine student from Medinipur notes, “College doesn’t even care about cisgender, heterosexual women! You think they’ll take a stand for us? They just need a reason to abandon us. On top of that, if our parents are involved, there’s a risk of getting outed.”

Queer students who have come to Kolkata from outside the city feel uncertain about expressing their queerness even within their supposedly liberal campuses. Stories of outstation students being stalked and harassed in hostels has become a growing matter of concern.

Queer students have also become suspicious about the media projection of victims of sexual violence, and feel that the media will be particularly insensitive and biased if a victim is queer.

Impact on mental health of queer students

Dr. SS, a Kolkata-based clinical psychologist, explains that such incidents can affect entire communities. He says, “Queer students deal with violence at a varying scale every day. If they see the authorities not taking appropriate action against wrongdoers, it’s likely to reaffirm their worst fears.” The impact can range from depression, anxiety, trauma to even PTSD like symptoms. “The impact of these incidents can manifest itself in disturbed sleep, and fear and distrust of authority figures. In times such as these, queer people should refrain from doom scrolling on their mobile phones and instead engage with others in community safe spaces,” he elaborates.

However, Dr. SS stresses the importance of systemic and familial support and argues that the onus of surviving these situations cannot be put on queer people alone. The educational institutions must train staff at all levels and sensitize all the students on gender and sexuality issues. They must also have queer affirmative and trauma-informed psychologists within their premises for providing counselling support. They must not remain silent in cases of violence and should not indulge in victim blaming. They must create an environment where survivors are provided appropriate support and victims are believed rather than scrutinized or shamed.

A queer activist and advocate who practises at the High Court of Calcutta and prefers to remain anonymous talks about the lacunae in India’s laws concerning queer people. Despite being a discriminatory and draconian law, Section 377 of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code was the only law that could be used to provide redress in cases of same-sex sexual assault faced by men, particularly queer men. Under the newly instituted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, there is no specific provision to penalize same-sex sexual assault.

The advocate also points out that clause 18(d) in Chapter VIII of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 states that punishment of any kind of assault (verbal, physical, sexual, emotional, or economic) against a trans person calls for imprisonment of six months to two years. Such disproportionate punishment discourages trans victims of sexual violence from pursuing legal action against their perpetrators. He says, “Since the 2019 Act, many trans people do not prefer filing complaints against their violator. They feel scared and say what’s the point. The assaulter will get out in a few months and can harm me again.”

Need for supportive services

Another issue plaguing the queer communities when it comes to legal aid is the lack of adequate number of queer friendly lawyers well versed in the concerns that queer people have to deal with. Often queer people report being misled, insulted and scammed by lawyers. Sagnik, a trans man, recollects his first experience of trying to get an affidavit made for applying for a transgender identity certificate. He says, “ I didn’t know anyone at Sealdah Civil & Criminal Court. I approached a random notary who introduced me to a lawyer. They asked me to pay ten thousand rupees for a transgender affidavit!” Sagnik ended up paying the amount, but the affidavit he received was flawed and unusable. For the record, such an affidavit should cost no more than Rs.3,000 anywhere in West Bengal.

Initiatives by activists, community groups and other NGOs have been trying to bridge the gap between the queer communities and the few queer friendly services that do exist. One such platform is the Varta online locator. It is a free-access, easy-to-navigate locator that provides information about queer friendly mental health, sexual health and legal aid service providers across several states and Union Territories of India. The locator eases the process of finding verified and community-endorsed service providers by geographic location and nature of services required. The Queer Friendly Lawyers Network – West Bengal is another forum for accessing supportive legal aid.

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Faced with multiple challenges around their gender and sexuality, queer students in Kolkata are finding themselves burdened even more with the recent incidents of sexual violence. They are becoming hypervigilant of their surroundings, which in turn is becoming both physically and mentally exhausting. Though queer rights in India have seen significant progress, violence, hate speech, and inadequate sociolegal recourses may well undo the progress made.

This article is a joint effort of mental health peer counsellors associated with Varta Trust. Queer individuals in West Bengal looking for peer counselling support can write to vartablog@gmail.com – Editor.