abstract The popularity of social media raises concerns related to cyber-violence and the security of marginalised individuals and groups, including the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT+) population. Developing worthy interventions requires exploration of the LGBT+ population’s experiences of cyber-violence in relation to gender discrimination, which was the aim of this study. A qualitative approach sourced data between 2017 and 2019 from LGBT+ Facebook groups and pages and semi-structured interviews with participants who identified themselves as among the LGBT+ population. Keywords such as LGBT+, homosexuals, and isiZulu terms such as ‘izitabane’ and ‘inkonkoni’ were used to search for content. It was found that Facebook is used as a platform by heterosexuals to make violent and hateful comments against the LBGT+ population. Comments displayed to the public (including, for example, “gays are dogs, they can never transform to being women”) reflected heteronormative behaviour. A significant finding was the infiltration of heterosexual individuals into the space created by the LGBT+ population, suggesting an increased risk of cyber-violence, and that the right to privacy and security is often compromised. Addressing cyberbullying of the LGBT+ population through education on gender diversity is recommended.

中文翻译：

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将社交媒体作为针对 LGBT+ 人群的网络暴力平台的研究

摘要 社交媒体的流行引发了对网络暴力和边缘化个人和群体安全的担忧，包括女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋和跨性别 (LGBT+) 人群。制定有价值的干预措施需要探索 LGBT+ 人群在与性别歧视相关的网络暴力方面的经历，这是本研究的目的。一种定性方法从 2017 年至 2019 年间从 LGBT+ Facebook 群组和页面以及对自称为 LGBT+ 人群的参与者进行半结构化访谈中获取数据。诸如 LGBT+、同性恋者和 isiZulu 术语（如“izitabane”和“inkononi”）等关键词被用于搜索内容。结果发现，Facebook 被异性恋者用作平台，对 LBGT+ 人群发表暴力和仇恨评论。向公众展示的评论（包括，例如，“同性恋是狗，他们永远不会变成女人”）反映了异性恋行为。一个重要的发现是异性恋者渗透到 LGBT+ 人群创造的空间中，这表明网络暴力风险增加，并且隐私权和安全权经常受到损害。建议通过性别多样性教育解决 LGBT+ 人群的网络欺凌问题。并且隐私权和安全权经常受到损害。建议通过性别多样性教育解决 LGBT+ 人群的网络欺凌问题。并且隐私权和安全权经常受到损害。建议通过性别多样性教育解决 LGBT+ 人群的网络欺凌问题。