KPU criminology honours students seek participants for final research projects

Four Kwantlen Polytechnic University criminology honours students are seeking participants for their final research projects exploring human relationships with fear, harassment, racial discrimination, and religious institutions. 

Bubleen Somal is exploring women’s fear of victimization and well-being in the Lower Mainland and is looking for adults who identify as women aged 18 or over to participate in her survey, “Intersecting Identities — Fear of Victimization and Women’s Well-being.”

Somal’s own experiences as a woman working in the Central Surrey neighbourhood of Whalley inspired her to examine how the fear of becoming a victim of a crime impacts overall quality of life. 

“As a girl, speaking from personal experience, there is a certain extent of fear,” she says. “That’s why I wanted to see if other females deal with this as well. Are they always scared to walk alone? Are they scared when somebody, like a man, just walks by?”

Somal is looking at the topic through different lenses, such as socio-economic status and sexual orientation, and hopes this research will lead to more support being made available for women. 

“There’s no groups or therapy for girls who have a fear of being victimized because they haven’t been victimized yet,” Somal says. “That’s why I feel like this topic is really important to me because it gets overlooked.”

To participate in Somal’s survey, visit www.bit.ly/fearofvictim. 

Elizabeth Renato is recruiting Black women between the ages of 18 to 40 to discuss their experiences with law enforcement officials in Canada. She is interested in how race and gender shape encounters with the police and how those experiences shape women’s view of law enforcement as a whole. 

She says this work is important because there is little research available on the topic. 

“There’s more research on the experiences of Black men. I think that Black women are, a lot of times, overshadowed,” Renato says. “Being a Black woman myself and facing similar situations, I think I have to do this research.” 

Since the population of Black women in British Columbia is smaller compared to other provinces like Ontario, she says she expanded her research from B.C. to nationwide, adding that the lack of interaction law enforcement has with Black women contributes to the issue.

“I want Black women to have more of a voice,” Renato says. “There are a lot of instances where there are aggressive encounters with law enforcement towards Black women, but it’s just like, ‘Who cares?’”

To get involved in Renato’s research, email her at elizabeth.renato@student.kpu.ca. 

Nadja Lepojevic is recruiting 2SLGBTQIA+ people in Metro Vancouver with experiences of family rejection, either separate or combined with religious trauma, for interviews. Participants in the research will also receive a $30 Amazon gift card. 

She is looking at how these experiences affected participants’ identities and how they made sense of the discrimination as they grew up. Lepojevic adds the most surprising piece has been that mental health issues attributed to a lack of support systems. 

“It doesn’t matter if it’s your biological or if it’s your chosen family, you need that support for people to uplift you,” says Lepojevic, who identifies as pansexual and Orthodox Christian. 

“The people I’ve interviewed so far, they’ve gone through this mental turmoil of not being able to turn to certain people because they are afraid of being outed [or] not being taken seriously or accepted for their identities.” To connect with Lepojevic, email nadja.lepojevic@student.kpu.ca. 

Jasmeen Kaur is exploring the experiences of Indian international students in terms of the recent rise in online hate. Kaur is looking to interview KPU students, who will also receive a $30 Amazon gift card for taking part in her research. 

She says this project began after she noticed a rise in online hate toward Indian international students last summer. Kaur is hoping to learn how the experiences of new international students compare with those like herself who arrived a couple of years ago. 

“Online hate is not just words on a screen, it can lead to real-life impacts, isolate people, [and] lead to feelings of exclusion, stress, and anxiety,” she says, adding that it’s important Canada recognizes this issue and protects vulnerable people who are new to the country. 

“It’s important that Canada maintains its multicultural identity and protects students who spend so much of their time and money into the Canadian economy.”

To participate in Kaur’s research, email jasmeen.kaur5@student.kpu.ca.