150,000 gay pupils
suffer abuse
From icWales.co.uk on
the Web, June 26, 2007
More than 150,000 pupils have been
targeted by school bullies because they are gay, research suggests.
Two-thirds of lesbian and gay pupils have experienced homophobic bullying,
ranging from verbal abuse to violence and even death threats, the survey by
equality organisation Stonewall found.
About half of teachers did not intervene when children used homophobic language
like "dyke", "queer" or "rug muncher", the study said.
And some pupils even claimed their teachers joined in with the abuse.
Ben Summerskill, Stonewall chief executive, said the figures suggested about
156,000 pupils had suffered homophobic bullying in Britain's schools.
"These deeply disturbing figures should serve as a wake-up call to everyone
working in education," he said.
This is a damning legacy of Section 28, which deterred schools from tackling
anti-gay bullying for so long. This remains one of the few sorts of
bullying about which too many schools still take no action. It blights the
lives not just of gay children but of thousands of pupils perceived to be
lesbian or gay too."
Section 28 of the 1988 Local Government Act banned the "promotion" of
homosexuality, leading many schools to believe they could not tackle anti-gay
bullying. Section 28 was repealed in 2003 but the Stonewall report
suggested most gay pupils were still being bullied.
Nearly all the 1,100 gay, lesbian and bisexual pupils surveyed said they heard
derogatory phrases in school, such as "poof", or "that's so gay", the report
said.
But homophobic bullying can be far more extreme. The study said 41% of gay
and lesbian pupils had experienced physical abuse, 17% had received death
threats and 12% had been sexually assaulted.
The Stonewall report said three-quarters of gay pupils in faith schools were
bullied over their sexuality. And about 70% of victims said homophobic
bullying affected their school work. The study suggested less than a
quarter of schools have told their pupils specifically that homophobic bullying
is wrong. This was despite Government guidance that all schools should set
out specific policies against homophobic bullying.
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