A large part of the world has yet to adopt explicit legislation to protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and intersex (LGBTI) youth in schools against bullying.
This is according to ILGA World, which released new data, published on the ILGA World Database.
To date, only six UN member States have adopted anti-bullying legislation that protects youth irrespective of their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). At least one of these grounds, however, is explicitly mentioned in national-level laws in at least 40 UN member States. Still, this is only one-fifth of the world.
“No matter where we begin our journey, the beliefs that guide us, or the lives we can build for our families, most people want youth to travel safely through an education that can grant them a future,” said Gurchaten Sandhu, Director of programs at ILGA World. “But for far too many, bullying becomes a major roadblock along the way. And when governments refuse to take action, they leave those roadblocks in place—or worse, allow for the debris to fall and make a difficult path into a landslide.”
“Bullying harms LGBTI students’ mental health and lowers their academic and job prospects. Its consequences drive up healthcare and social support costs. If States are serious about wanting to create a more economically prosperous future for all, they should know that their inaction is bad not just for LGBTI individuals, but for society as a whole.”
ILGA World data show that most jurisdictions use education or equal treatment laws to protect against school bullying. They do so either by prohibiting SOGIESC-based harassment in education or by legally requiring educational institutions to incorporate SOGIESC-based bullying in their codes of conduct and policies.
Some jurisdictions have included SOGIESC-based bullying in laws that specifically protect children as a group, and in one case (France) they punish it with imprisonment.
“These laws suggest that States might understand school bullying as a very particular form of violence that not only has youth as its main victims, but also as its main perpetrators,” says Curro Peña Diaz, research consultant at ILGA World. “This is why, frequently, jurisdictions rely on pedagogical approaches to educate the bullies and provide redress for victims within the school system, rather than through criminal sanctions.”
Even in the current global environment, where reactionary forces have turned education paths into battlefields, UN member States are taking concrete steps to protect LGBTI youth from bullying.
In the past two years, Chile, Estonia, and Ukraine discussed law proposals, while the government of Solomon Islands initiated a public consultation to develop a policy against bullying that considered students’ sexual orientation. In addition, the Federal Supreme Court of Brazil ruled that education authorities must prevent and address bullying on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity as part of their legal obligation to ensure everyone the right to an education without discrimination.
“We encourage more States to follow these promising paths. Most of us work hard for our families, no matter what they look like,” conclude Kimberly Frost and Yuri Guaiana, co-secretaries general at ILGA World. “But today, a powerful few fuel divisions among us and block our efforts to ensure safe and welcoming schools. We must join together and advocate for laws ensuring that every youth can enjoy a high-quality education that lets them pursue their dreams — without exceptions or roadblocks.”
