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# LGBTQ+ Durham university students face online harassment
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/lgbtq-durham-university-students-face-online-harassment/
- Published: 2020-10-25T10:10:20.000Z
- Updated: 2020-10-26T10:02:31.000Z
- Description: Students from an LGBTQ+ association at the University of Durham has reported an incident in which a group of 15 ‘hijacked’ a Zoom meeting and harassed them.
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: Community, Information, Mental Health, News, Queer Corner, COVID-19, Hate Crime, LGBTQ, UK News, Zoom

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/65690703_600400.jpg)](https://www.gscene.com/news/lgbtq-durham-university-students-face-online-harassment/attachment/65690703%5F600400/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)

Students from an LGBTQ+ association at the **University of Durham** have reported an incident in which a group of 15 ‘hijacked’ a Zoom meeting and harassed them. The LGBTQ+ society students told the [BBC](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-54648103?ref=scenemag.co.uk) they felt ‘threatened’ after they were verbally assaulted and had their video call – which was an event for new students already facing Covid-19 restrictions – disrupted by ‘loud music and sexually explicit videos’. The cyber attackers were able to join the Zoom meeting through an address shared by the LGBTQ+ group for the welcoming event, but none have been identified.

[![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/120290644_371288600.png)](https://www.gscene.com/news/lgbtq-durham-university-students-face-online-harassment/attachment/120290644%5F371288600/?ref=scenemag.co.uk)

A representative of the university insisted discrimination against LGBTQ+ students will ‘not be tolerated’, with a member of the society adding: *“To hijack an event like this in such an aggressive and targeted way is nothing less than a hate crime.”* They also suggested there was a ‘toxic culture’ of prejudice at Durham, saying: *“The fact that this was not simply an individual acting alone, but rather a co-ordinated attack from a number of people, is a reminder of how routinely unsafe and unwelcome our community is made to feel.”*

**Gscene says:** One of the biggest security issues facing *Zoom* is the surge in “*Zoombombing*,” when uninvited attendees break into and disrupt your meeting, [learn here how to best secure and protect your meetings](https://www.support.com/how-to/how-to-secure-zoom-and-stop-zoom-bombing-13281?ref=scenemag.co.uk) from this kind of uninvited and unwanted activities.