It’s still a day-to-day challenge for LGBT youths…
A study done by Stonewall with the Centre for Family Research at the University of Cambridge in Great Britain found that still nearly half of LGBT pupils (45%) – including 64% of trans pupils – are bullied for being LGBT in schools (particularly, at least in this case, in schools in Britain – Ed).
The number is actually lower than the 55% who experienced bullying because of their sexual orientation in 2012 and 65% in 2007.
Among the bullying acts include “frequently” or “often” hearing homophobic slurs (for half of LGBT pupils).
Schools are starting to pay attention, so it seems, with seven in 10 LGBT pupils reporting that their school says that homophobic and biphobic bullying is wrong, up from half in 2012 and a quarter in 2007. However, it is worth noting that just two in five LGBT pupils report that their schools say that transphobic bullying is wrong.
Perhaps not surprisingly, more than four in five trans young people have self-harmed, as have three in five lesbian, gay and bi young people who aren’t trans. Also, more than two in five trans young people have attempted to take their own life, and one in five lesbian, gay and bi students who aren’t trans have done the same.
In the Philippines, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier released a report (“Just Let Us Be’: Discrimination Against LGBT Students in the Philippines”) that noted that while Philippine law provides protections against discrimination and exclusion in schools, lawmakers and school administrators need to take steps to ensure they are fully implemented.
There have been efforts from the Department of Education re being SOGIE sensitive. For instance, the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the Republic Act No. 10627 includes “gender-based bullying”, which is “any act that humiliates or excludes a person on the basis of perceived or actual sexual orientation and gender identity.” And more recently, the Department of Education (DepEd) issued a gender-responsive basic education policy (DepEd Order No. 32, s. 2017) that “commits to integrate the principles of gender equality, gender equity, gender sensitivity, non-discrimination and human rights in the provision and governance of basic education”. To date, nonetheless, no reviews have been done on the implementation of these pro-LGBT efforts.
