According to a study released last week by a national LGBT student-advocacy group, anti-LGBT bullying is a pervasive and ill-addressed problem in Pennsylvania public schools.
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network published a research brief April 16 — the day before students from 22 public and private schools across the state participated in the national Day of Silence to protest LGBT harassment in the classroom — that revealed homophobia is alive and well in Pennsylvania’s education system.
The data was based on GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey, which was released in October 2008. The organization has recently begun releasing state-by-state statistics, publishing reports on trends in Arizona, California, Michigan and New York.
“Inside Pennsylvania Schools: The Experiences of LGBT Students” drew from the survey responses of 242 Pennsylvania students.
About 98 percent of the respondents regularly heard the word “gay” used in a negative connotation, and 83 percent reported regularly hearing homophobic remarks, such as “faggot” or “dyke,” in the classroom.
Approximately 88 percent of the students said they’d been verbally harassed — either through name-calling or threats — for their sexual orientation and 63 percent reported verbal attacks stemming from their gender identity or expression.
About 52 percent said they were physically harassed — pushed or shoved — and 27 percent were physically assaulted — punched, kicked or injured with a weapon — because of their sexual orientation, while 36 percent were physically harassed and 18 percent assaulted on account of their gender identity.
Fifty-four percent of students who’d experienced either verbal or physical harassment didn’t report such incidents to school staff and, of those who did, only 32 percent said their admissions resulted in effective intervention.
Carrie Jacobs, executive director of The Attic Youth Center, noted that while some local schools are guided by principals and staff who are conscious of LGBT issues, many do not make the needs of these students a priority.
“The majority of our schools, particularly the middle schools, seem insensitive and unaware of the experiences of LGBTQ youth in their school,” she said. “There is a lot of talk about bullying and harassment but no one seems to make a particular issue about antigay abuse and language. My opinion is that schools need to be more intentional about addressing the hurtful and destructive antigay messages, and provide ongoing and consistent training and support for school staff.”
The report also found that the harassment had a negative impact on the students’ attendance.
About 39 percent of the students had skipped class in the month prior to the survey because they felt unsafe, and 44 percent missed at least one day. Students who were more frequently harassed in the classroom were more than twice as likely to miss school than those who experienced harassment less frequently.
In comparison to the national averages released in last fall’s report, Pennsylvania ranked higher in every single category of verbal and physical harassment.
For instance, 44 percent of LGBT students across the nation experienced physical harassment because of their sexual orientation and 30 percent for their gender identity, and 22 percent reported physical assault because of their sexual orientation and 14 percent because of their gender identity.
Likewise, about 32 percent of national LGBT students who were harassed missed one class the month before the survey, and 33 percent missed an entire day.
GLSEN spokesperson Darryl Presgraves said the discrepancies could be a result of Pennsylvania’s lack of legislation to ban anti-LGBT bullying in schools.
“Our hope in doing this research is that we can raise awareness of the problem of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in Pennsylvania schools,” he said. “Pennsylvania is one of 43 states that doesn’t protect students from bullying and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, so we hope that this can bring some attention to this issue.”
Jacobs suggested that the Philadelphia School District could enact an anti-LGBT bullying policy, which could serve as a model for the rest of the state.
“There is still so much work that needs to be done in our schools to keep our youth safe,” she said. “Until we become specific and focused on protecting LGBTQ youth, they will remain unsafe.”
To contact the local GLSEN chapter, located in Pittsburgh, call (412) 361-6996 or e-mail Pittsburgh@chapters.glsen.org.
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