Time to stop homophobic bullying

(04/07/08) UNISON has joined the other TUC unions in calling on the government to include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality education in the school curriculum.

Schools need to protect their pupils from homophobic bullying, and promoting LGBT equality in the classroom is the best solution, say unions. They have condemned schools for not doing enough to tackle the problem.

At the TUC’s annual LGBT conference, which ends in London today, unions pledged to work together to make sure LGBT equality education becomes a priority for the government.

“The UK's education system ought to be in the vanguard of the fight against homophobic discrimination,” said TUC general secretary Brendan Barber.

“But despite some notable exceptions, too many educational establishments are breeding grounds for the worst kind of casual prejudice.”

Quoting from a survey by Stonewall last year, which laid bare the huge scale of the problem, Mr Barber said: “Its shocking findings ought to act as a wake-up call to us all.

“Almost all LGBT pupils reported hearing homophobic abuse. No less than two thirds reported being the victims of bullying. And, perhaps most alarming of all, one in six said they had been subjected to death threats.

“Schools and colleges are not doing enough.”

Click on the link to read The Stonewall survey - The School Report

UNISON will be out and proud in London tomorrow, distributing LGBT materials, recruitment leaflets, and information on the local government strike. Join UNISON at London Pride on 5 July.

Bookmark, print, post, feed or send to a friend:

Print version

RSS feeds