Tag Archives: Homophobic Bullying

Gays and Lesbians Bullied More Often in Childhood

A new study suggests bullying starts as early as elementary and middle school, and occurs more frequently for students who later identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual.

The study found that from fifth through 10th grade, children who later identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual were nearly twice as likely to be victims of weekly bullying during the previous year.

Study lead author Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of general paediatrics at Boston Children’s Hospital, says

There’s been a history of saying ‘kids will be kids’ and that they just have to learn to deal with bullying, but we’ve recognised more and more that bullying has serious short-term and long-term consequences.”

The consequences of bullying can include physical injury, anxiety, low self-esteem, depression, suicidal thoughts, post-traumatic stress and negative school performance.

The findings were published in a letter in the May 7 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

The researchers surveyed more than 4,000 students from Los Angeles County, Houston, and Birmingham, Ala., about being bullied when they were in fifth, seventh and 10th grades.

During the 10th-grade survey, the students also answered two questions about their sexual orientation. Overall, 21 percent of the girls and 8 percent of the boys said they were not 100 percent heterosexual or straight, or that they were not only attracted to the opposite sex.

Students who identified as being gay, lesbian or bisexual in 10th grade were three times as likely as students who identified solely as heterosexual to report being bullied at least weekly over the previous year. In fifth graders who later identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual, 13 percent reported being bullied, compared to 8 percent of heterosexual students. In seventh grade, those numbers were 8 percent versus 4 percent in those who said they were heterosexual.

Stacee Reicherzer, a licensed professional counselor who has worked with lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) youth, and is transgender herself, said

In fifth grade, the more likely reason that these children are being singled out is due to nonconformance with the defined gender roles for girls or boys at their schools. They are picked on because they are not masculine enough boys or feminine enough girls.”

They may also feel different enough from their peers that they are shy and less willing to engage socially, making them a target, Reicherzer said.

Bullying overall declined as the children grew older, dropping from a high of more than 13 percent in fifth grade to 4 percent in high school for those who identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual teens were also approximately 56 percent more likely than heterosexual teens to experience physical harm, threats of harm, name-calling, being the subject of nasty rumors or social exclusion at least weekly over the previous year in all three grades.

The study did not ask specifically about cyberbullying, which may increase as children get older, said Dr. Andrew Adesman, chief of developmental and behavioral pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York, in New Hyde Park, N.Y.

The researchers didn’t ask whether students identified as transgender, but Reicherzer said that relatively few people identify themselves as transgender during adolescence. Still, this study may offer some insights for transgender teens, who tend to struggle in school and lack on-site resources, she said.

All the experts agreed that parents’ vigilance and open communication with their children were important to identifying bullying.

Concluding, Dr. Andrew Adesman said

Parents should speak to their children to find out what happened at school that was good and also bad, particularly about events in the cafeteria and on the school bus, two of the most likely settings for bullying.”

Signs that a child is being bullied include unexplained injuries, lost or damaged personal property, a reluctance to go to school, recurring stomach aches or headaches, a loss of friends, a drop in grades, avoiding social situations, and changes in mood or eating or sleeping habits, he said.

Schuster also added

Parents should take bullying seriously, and teachers, coaches, religious leaders, physicians and all of us who have contact with kids need to be alert and help support parents.”

Parents also need to be aware of what they are teaching their children, he said. Mocking others who are gay, even privately, teaches children that targeting different groups is acceptable and is particularly traumatic if a child realizes he or she is gay, he added.

Since bullying can become an additional risk factor for depression and self-harm, schools play a major role in prevention, said Noa Saadi, a social worker at Providence Saint John’s Child and Family Development Center in Santa Monica, Calif.

School climate and culture can have a significant impact on academic achievement and student behavior. Therefore, consistent efforts to create school environments that are safe for all students should be a priority as kids tend to thrive in environments that are nurturing and free of harassment and bullying.”

Clementi Family Use the Pain of Their Gay Son’s Death to Encourage Acceptance and Eradicate Bullying

Tyler Clementi’s family could have stayed silent after he killed himself. They could have hid from the spotlight and attention thrust upon it when he jumped from the George Washington Bridge – a tragic event that happened after his roommate’s webcam captured him kissing another man inside their Rutgers University dorm room.

However, 4 years after his death, the Clementis have used their daily pain to encourage acceptance and eradicate bullying.

“We could have retreated. We didn’t want to see this kind of thing happen to other kids and have it affect other families the way it affected ours.”

Joseph Clementi

The Clementi foundation raises awareness of bullying and cyber-bullying, particularly in the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

Its initiatives include building support for LGBT and vulnerable youth through partnerships and legislative advocacy, as well as having family members speak to different organizations and groups to encourage more “inclusive environments.”

One of its key initiatives is turning bystanders into ‘upstanders’.

All too often people witness bullying but don’t do anything about it. Using his son’s case an example, Joseph Clementi said that if just one person had stood up and said something, it could have made a difference.

The foundation already partnered with Rutgers to launch the Tyler Clementi Center, which works within the school and with outside organizations to study young people in the digital era. But it hopes to become a national voice and “thought leader” on bullying issues, Joseph Clementi said.

Tyler Clementi’s mother, Jane, gave the keynote address last year at a small conference of Christians on LGBT issues, telling the gathering she had left the conservative church she had attended before his death. She also took part in a panel at the Washington National Cathedral last October with Judy Shepard, whose son Matthew was killed in Wyoming in 1998. Matthew Shepard’s name is on the expanded federal hate-crimes legislation to cover crimes motivated by bias against gays, lesbians and transgender people.

Clementi’s death, along with a string of other suicides in 2010, raised awareness of the impact of bullying by associating specific stories with the issue, said Seth Adam, director of communications for GLAAD, an LGBT advocacy organization.

Before 2010, Adam said, LGBT bullying wasn’t a major talking point. The conversation after Clementi’s death ignited an expansion of LGBT bullying awareness and mixed with a larger culture shift that allowed other LGBT issues to gain momentum, he said.

But James Clementi said the cultural shift isn’t happening fast enough. The foundation continues to hear from those who suffer from harassment, he said.

“When young people are in so much pain that they literally want to die. The change that we’re talking about is happening at too slow a pace.”

Joseph Clementi

86% of UK School Teachers say Homophobic Bullying Happens in Their School

Front page imageA new YouGov polling released by Stonewall shows that teachers are still failing to tackle homophobic bullying in Britain’s schools. Just one in eight teachers trained to tackle homophobic bullying, and a third of teachers hear homophobic language from other school staff.

The Teachers’ Report 2014 revealed that fewer than one in ten – 8%, primary school teachers and fewer than one in five – 17%, secondary school teachers have received training on tackling homophobic bullying.

This is despite the fact that 66% of secondary school teachers say that homophobic bullying has a detrimental impact on students’ achievement and attainment at school. Shockingly three in ten secondary school teachers and two in five primary school teachers do not know if they are even allowed to teach lesbian, gay and bisexual issues.

The Teachers’ Report 2014 also reveals that an overwhelming majority of teachers across both secondary and primary schools believe school staff have a duty to prevent and respond to homophobic bullying. Encouragingly the report does show that the percentage of teachers who say homophobic bullying happens often in their schools has fallen by half.

Teachers are the most powerful tool that we have in the fight to tackle homophobic bullying. Sadly our new research shows that, despite some progress, the legacy of Section 28 is lives on in Britain’s schools. We’ve seen what happens when schools fail to get to grips with teaching the realities of 21st century Britain. The Government must now make it a priority that every single teacher is trained to tackle all types of bullying and abuse in our schools.’

Ruth Hunt, Stonewall Acting Chief Executive

The Teachers’ Report 2014 was launched at Stonewall’s annual Education for All Conference, which brings together teachers, politicians and students.

The charity is also launching an interactive new website for primary schools to help them tackle homophobia and to talk about different families in an age-appropriate manner: www.stonewallprimary.org.uk

Alongside of the new guidance and research Stonewall has named the top local authorities who are working to tackle homophobic bullying. Brighton & Hove council is named the top local authority for their work to prevent bullying and create inclusive schools. Hertfordshire Country Council and Wiltshire Council round out the top three performing local authorities in 2014.

When local authorities abdicate their leadership on tackling bullying and prejudice it is students across Britain who suffer. The local authorities, and particularly Brighton & Hove Council, have shown that we can build schools that are welcoming for all where students can achieve their full academic potential, regardless of their sexual orientation.’

Luke Tryl, Stonewall’s Head of Education