Bullying
Bullying in schools is a major problem. Stonewall found that 65% of young lesbian, gay and bisexual people have experienced bullying in school.Research at GALYIC found that 92% of the fifty members interviewed had experienced bullying in schools. This included bullying because the victim was disabled, minority ethnic, or simply because they 'looked different.' However, 76% of members had experienced homophobic bullying: bullying based on the belief that the victim is known or suspected to be gay. All schools in Calderdale are affected.
Homophobic bullying ranges from verbal abuse, threats/intimidation, harassment, physical, damage to property, blackmail, theft, arson to sexual assault and sometimes even rape.
Have a look at this interview with Gareth, one of GALYIC's members, talking about when he was bullied at school.You don't have to put up with this. There are people in school you can go to for help, for example, the teacher who is responsible for safe-guarding; Connexions personal advisers; targeted youth support workers; and school nurses.
But if you don't feel able to ask these for support and would prefer to talk to a young person who has been through something similar, you can contact one of the LGBT CyberMentors at www.cybermentors.org.uk.
A pupil's guide to surviving anti-gay harassment and physical or sexual assault tells you what simple steps you can take to make yourself safe. There are guides for your family, teachers and head teachers in the Further Resources section at the bottom of this page.
Bullying can have a serious effect on our emotional health, especially when we are trying to come to terms with being LGBT and even more so if we are isolated and without support. The section on Mental Health tells you more about this and gives suggestions as to how you can cope.
Sometimes when you are experiencing homophobic bullying, it makes you more confused about your sexual orientation. If you haven't already done so, have a look at our Coming Out section, and in particular Coming Out to Yourself.
It can help to talk to a counsellor but it is important you see one who is positive about being gay. Contact your nearest LGBT youth group or helpline to find a counsellor; failing that your local sexual health clinic may provide counselling.
Government Initiatives
From 2011 homophobic bullying will be recorded alongside racist and religious bullying, so schools will have to start taking the issue more seriously. In April 2011 the Public Sector Equality Duty comes into force. Schools, along with other public services, will actively need to promote equality and tackle homophobia.The recently published education white paper highlights the need for schools to tackle homophobic bullying. The white paper states that the government will "Strengthen head teachers' authority to maintain discipline beyond the school gates, improve exclusion processes and empower head teachers to take a strong stand against bullying, especially racist, homophobic and other prejudice-based bullying."
To ensure schools tackle bullying, government says that they will "Focus Ofsted inspections more strongly on behaviour and safety, including bullying, as one of four key areas of inspection." The white paper continues, "If parents have concerns about behaviour, and feel that the school has not dealt with them properly, they can ask Ofsted to carry out an inspection. In deciding how to proceed, Ofsted will consider whether evidence suggests that standards of behaviour have dropped since the last inspection and whether they give cause for concern. Ofsted may choose to contact the school for more information before deciding whether it needs to inspect the school, or it may carry out an inspection immediately if the problems are serious." Click here to access full white paper. In March 2011 the Commission for Equality and Human Rights published a report, Prevention and response to identity-based bullying among local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales. The report states, "...greater efforts need to be made to challenge overriding prejudice, and to eliminate homophobic and disablist attitudes at all levels of the school and wider community." The report highlights that LGBT young people may have, "particular needs or issues which should be considered by those tasked with preventing or responding to identity-based bullying." These include, for example, the fear of being outed, fear of teachers being homophobic, or that they will not be taken seriously. The report adds, "It may also be necessary to provide targeted and specialised support or avenues of support for those who do report LGB bullying." Here are relevant extracts from the report and here is a link to the complete report.