The Southern Equality Research and Policy Center (SERPC) conducts independent research and develops interventions to promote the legal and lived equality of LGBTQ Southerners.
Through our community-based research, we promote an increased understanding of LGBTQ life in the South that is fact-based and can inform policies and strategies to promote the health, equity, and well-being of LGBTQ people in the region.
Navigate This Page:
➡️ Why SERPC?
➡️ Center Priorities
➡️ Center Leadership
➡️ Publications
➡️ SERPC in the News
➡️ Apply to Access SERPC Data
➡️ Values Statement
The Center’s Priorities
Community-Based Research
Community-Based Research is the practice of community and academic stakeholders cooperatively investigating social problems that affect the lived experiences and life chances of marginalized groups. The goals of CBR are centered on the compilation of data that will aid organizers, policymakers, and other stakeholders in addressing those social problems.
Policy Research & Recommendations
The SERPC will play a role in conducting research to understand the impact of discriminatory bills and laws on LGBTQ people’s lives. The SERPC will advance CSE’s policy work by being a hub for the development of model policies and policy recommendations.
Equity
CSE’s work is rooted in commitments to equity in race, class and gender. As a methodological approach to social science, community based research is built on a foundation of equitable partnerships between researchers, organizers, and other stakeholders.
Engagement and Collaboration
Through various pathways toward community engagement, the SERPC seeks to place rigorous data about LGBTQ Southerners in the hands of the LGBTQ community, educators and school administrators, health care and other service providers, policy makers and law enforcement officials, journalists and activists.
Leadership
Austin H. Johnson, PhD
Director • He/Him/His
Austin was born and raised in Union, South Carolina. Receiving his Ph.D. in Sociology from Kent State University in 2017, he is now an associate professor of Sociology at Kenyon College. Austin is a scholar-activist whose academic research is geared toward better understanding the social problems that affect LGBTQ+ southerners. He is an award-winning scholar whose peer-reviewed research has been published in Sociology Compass, Sociological Inquiry, Advances in Gender Research, Sociology of Health & Illness, Qualitative Health Research, and Gender, Work, & Organization. Austin serves on the Board of Directors of Gender Benders, a regional non-profit serving trans and non-binary southerners based in Upstate SC. He has served as Research Director of the Campaign for Southern Equality’s Southern LGBTQ Health Initiative since 2019. Austin lives in Gambier, Ohio.
Contact: austin@southernequality.org
Chase Harless
Deputy Director • He/Him/His
Chase Harless (he/him/his) was born and raised in East Tennessee. As a researcher with a passion for policy and public health, he is interested in utilizing research to help shape public policy and procedures, especially for marginalized communities. He became involved with CSE in 2017 while completing a graduate school internship with the organization. Specializing in qualitative methods and survey methodology, Chase provides research and evaluation support for the organization, including leading the Southern LGBTQ Health Survey. Along with a history of community organizing, he has experience with engaging communities in field research through designing program evaluations with various advocacy groups across the South to help strengthen services and conducting needs assessments to address community issues.
Chase’s research interests include reducing disparities in LGBTQ healthcare, increasing understanding of the lived experiences of transgender and gender non-conforming individuals living in the South, and improving access to mental health care and substance use treatment in rural areas, He received his master of social work from Western Carolina University in 2018. When not in the office, Chase enjoys playing board games and listening to records with his three cats.
Contact: chase@southernequality.org
Tiara Giddings
Research & Policy Analyst • She/Her/Hers
Tiara Giddings is the Research & Policy Analyst for the Campaign for Southern Equality. She was born and raised in White Plains, New York. She earned her PhD in Sociology from Georgia State University where her research explored how institutional policies and practices inform the raced, gendered, and classed experiences of students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). As Research and Policy Analyst, Tiara seeks to use an intersectional approach to contribute to community-engaged research that identifies and addresses inequities to promote the well-being of all LGBTQ people. Tiara is an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Leading Edge Fellow. She currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia and enjoys trying new restaurants, watching sports, and spending quality time with family and friends.
Contact: tiara@southernequality.org
SERPC Publications
How Far? The Extreme Travel Burden of Bans on Medically Necessary Care for Transgender Youth
How Far? The Extreme Travel Burden of Bans on Medically Necessary Care for Transgender Youth is a new report that details the distances, costs, and logistical hurdles families face as they travel long distances for gender-affirming care.
Coming of Age As An LGBTQ Southerner: Family, Faith, Education & Health
Coming of Age as an LGBTQ Southerner: Family, Faith, Education & Health, details the findings of the 2021 Survey of Southern LGBTQ Experiences, a survey of 4,186 LGBTQ people who live in the South. This report, released in partnership with Campus Pride, covers new data about LGBTQ Southerners’ experiences with family, faith communities, school, and health.
Breakout Reports
SERPC has also produced the following break out reports using 2021 Survey of Southern LGBTQ Experiences data.
The Report of the 2019 Southern LGBTQ Health Survey
The 2019 Southern LGBTQ Health Survey includes responses from more than 5,600 Southern LGBTQ people, one of the largest samples ever of LGBTQ Southerners talking specifically about their health. The Survey report covers new data about LGBTQ Southerners’ physical and mental health; overall quality of care; experiences with depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and self-harming behaviors; and experiences with HIV.
Issue and State Spotlight Reports
SERPC has also produced the following issue and state spotlight reports using 2019 Southern LGBTQ Healthy Survey data.
The Report of the 2019 Southern Tran Health Focus Group Project
“The Report of the 2018 Southern Trans Health Focus Group Project,” released in December 2018, documents the findings of a community-based research project through which diverse transgender Southerners across six states shared in-depth accounts of their experiences related to health issues and accessing health care.
SERPC in the News
- Fast Company: Map: Getting healthcare for transgender youth is harder in much of the country • April 19, 2024
- ABC News: Trans care restrictions force some families to travel hours, spend hundreds for treatment • April 19, 2024
- Huffpost: It’s Much Harder And More Expensive To Get Gender-Affirming Care Than Ever Before: Report • April 4, 2024
- The Tennessean: New data on LGBTQ Tennesseans should be a wake up call to lawmakers | Opinion • January 31, 2023
- OutSmart Magazine: LGBTQ Southern Voters Do More Than Vote • November 7, 2022
- Indy Week: Report: Queer Youth Living in the South Experience Mental Health Struggles • September 9, 2022
- Los Angeles Blade: ‘Don’t Say Gay’ era: Coming of Age as an LGBTQ Southerner • September 3, 2022
- NBC News: Over half of LGBTQ Southerners say their parents tried to change or repress their identity, report finds • September 2, 2022
- Queer Forty: New research will help drive policy for LGBTQ+ South • August 25, 2021
- OutTake: New Southern LGBTQ Research Program • August 25, 2021
- WUNC: How Can Transgender Southerners Get Better Healthcare? • February 27, 2019
- Mountain XPress: New report examines health care disparities among transgender populations • January 19, 2019
- Advocate: The Lack of Trans-Friendly Doctors in the South Is an Injustice • January 14, 2019
Apply to Access SERPC Data
Are you a researcher interested in LGBTQ+ Southern experiences? Apply to access SERPC data, with responses from thousands of LGBTQ Southerners on topics like health, education, faith, family, and political engagement. Click to button below for a step-by-step guide to apply for data from our 2019 Southern LGBTQ Health Survey and 2021 Southern LGBTQ Experiences Survey.
Commitment to Independence, Objectivity, and Ethics in Research
The SERPC is committed to rigorous, independent research. We do not alter findings and conclusions to accommodate funders, partner organizations, government bodies, or other entities. As social scientists conducting original research, we are committed to ethical research practices. In all of our research, we adhere to the ethical principles of respect for persons, beneficence, and justice, outlined in the Belmont Report.
All lead researchers at the SERPC must demonstrate their commitment to respect for persons, beneficence, and justice through a written statement of ethical consideration. This statement should be submitted prior to data collection and will be reviewed by the Director or Deputy Director of the SERPC. Researchers working with the SERPC are also bound by the Institutional Review Board of any other current affiliated institutions and must provide documentation of IRB approval before engaging in data collection of any kind.
