Homo/Transphobic Bullying

I began my academic career in the early 1990s conducting the U.K.’s first study of what is now known as ‘homophobic bullying’. From 1993 until 1997 I collected data from 190 lesbians and gay men who described to me (in great detail) their experiences of school. Subsequently, I conducted a follow-up study focusing upon the mental health, well-being and resilience of 116 former victims of homophobic bullying, together with a series of interviews with 16 participants. The results from this study were published in various national and international journals and I contributed to some very early anti-bullying resources published in the U.K., U.S., Canada, and Australia.

Although my original study came to an end in 1997, one subsequent study focused on the school experiences of children raised by same-sex and opposite-sex couples (download a pre-print copy here). Most recently I undertook a case-control study of 53 young people who indicated that they were attracted to members of the same-sex with 53 young people who reported being attracted to members of the opposite sex (participants in each group were matched on a number of demographic characteristics). A pre-print copy of this article is available here.

In 2011, Oxford University Press (New York) published, Homophobic Bullying: Research and Theoretical Perspectives. This book is a synthesis of the primarily research on homophobic bullying I have conducted over the last two decades, and offers a theoretical basis to understanding why homophobia exists.

Over the next few weeks I hope to build up the resources and links to this page, so please check back often.

U.K. research and resources

Stand Up For Us was originally published in 2004 by the Health Development Agency which had bought the rights to revise, update and extend Colours of the Rainbow by health worker Sandra Mole. Originally intendend to include lesson plans for teachers from Key Stage 1-4, it was edited down to a slim volume of 32 pages providing generic guidance for schools on how to combat homophobic bullying. Alas some of the resources that were once available on the web are no longer accessible.

In 2007, the then Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) published guidance on embedding homophobic bullying into anti-bullying work. The report (available here) provides advice to governors of schools about their legal responsibilities, to head teachers and school staff about their responsibilities and tell-tale signs that it is going on in their schools.

In 2007, Stonewall published The School Report focusing upon  homophobic bullying. They found that almost two thirds (65 per cent) of young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils  experienced bullying at school rising to 75% for those attending faith schools. Ninety eight per cent heard phrases such as  “that’s so gay” or “you’re so gay” at school, with four fifths hearing such comments often or frequently. Only 23% of young gay people have been told that homophobic bullying is wrong . In those schools that have said homophobic bullying is wrong, young LGBs are 60 per cent more likely not to have been bullied.

In 2009, Stonewall published The Teachers’ Report: Homophobic Bullying in Britain’s Schools which outlined key findings from a survey of teachers’ experiences of homophobic bullying.  Overall, 9 out of 10 secondary school teachers and more than two in five primary school teachers reported that, regardless of sexual orientation, pupils experienced homophobic bullying, name calling or harassment in their schools. Secondary school teachers reported that homophobic bullying is the second most frequent form of bullying after bullying because of a pupil’s weight and three times more prevalent than bullying due to religion or ethnicity. Overall, 95 per cent of secondary school teachers and approximately three quarters of primary school teachers reported hearing  ‘you’re so gay’ or ‘that’s so gay’ in their schools. Eight out of  ten secondary school teachers and two out of five primary school teachers said words such as ‘poof’, ‘dyke’, ‘queer’ and ‘faggot’ were commonplace. The majority of teachers and staff (9 out of  10 in secondary and primary schools) had never received any specific training on how to respond to homophobic bullying.

U.S. research and resources

In 2004  the California Safe Schools Coalition in conjunction with academics at the University of California, Davis published results from the California Healthy Kids Survey) which involved 237, 544 school students in grades 7-11 (7.5% of whom had been bullied because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation). The final report, Safe Place to Learn, demonstrated that, when compared to those students perceived to be heterosexual, those identified as lesbian, gay or bisexual were more likely to report a grade C average or lower (24% versus 17%), were more likely to report having missed school in the last month (27% versus 7%), were more likely to be threatened by someone holding a weapon (28% versus 5%) and were more likely to carry a weapon to school (19% versus 5%).

In 2009, GLSEN’s National School Climate Survey illustrated that of the 7,261 middle and high school students that took part, 9 out of 10 LGBT students had experienced harassment at school in the past year and nearly two-thirds reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. Almost one third of students said that they missed at least one day of school in the past month because of concerns for personal safety. While the results showed that since 1999 there has been a gradual reduction in the frequency of overheard homophobic comments, experiences of severe forms of bullying have remained constant.

The 2007 National School Climate Survey is also available here. Of the 6,209 middle and high school students surveyed it found that 86.2% of LGBT students experienced harassment at school in the past 12 months with 60.8% reporting  feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation. Overall, 32.7%  missed a day of school in the past month because they felt unsafe.

The 2005 National School Climate Survey can be found here.1,732 students aged between 13 and 20 years took part. 75. 4% reported that they had heard derogatory comments (e.g. “faggot” or “dyke”) frequently or often at school. Nearly 90% (89.2%) reported hearing comments such as, “that’s so gay”, or “you’re so gay”  (inferring stupidity or worthlessness) frequently or often. Just over a third (37.8%) said that they had experienced physical harassment because of their sexual orientation and 26.1% as a result of their gender expression. One-fifth (17.6%) said they had been physically assaulted because of their sexual orientation with11.8% reporting have been assaulted because of their gender expression.

In the 2003 National School Climate Survey (which can be found here), 887 students aged 13-20 years from 48 states participated. In this report LGBT youth who reported being victims od verbal harassment were twice as likely to report they did not intend to go to college. Additionally, their GPAs were significantly lower (2.9 vs. 3.3). 84% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation with 82.9% reporting that teachers never or rarely intervened even when present.

In the 2001 National School Climate Survey 904 LGBT students participated (report can be downloaded here). Overall, 83.2% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed (name calling, threats, etc.) because of their sexual orientation. 48.3% of LGBT students of colour reported having been verbally harassed because of both their sexual orientation and their race/ethnicity. 65.4% reported having been sexually harassed (74.2% of lesbian and bisexual young women and 73.7% of transgender students reported being sexually harassed). Nearl half, (41.9%) of LGBT students reported being physically harassed because of their sexual orientation with 21.1% being punched, kicked, injured with a weapon.

The very first National School Climate Survey conducted by GLSEN in 1999 (it can be accessed here). 496 LGBT youth from 32 states completed the survey. Over 90% reported that they sometimes or frequently heard homophobic remarks at school, and almost all reported that these remarks came from other students. 69% reported experiencing some form of harassment or violence, and 13.7% reported physical assault. Nearly half  said they did not feel safe in school, and over one third said they did not feel comfortable speaking to school staff about issues associated with their sexual orientaton or transgender status.

On the 7th October, 2010, launched the Safe Space Kit to counter homophobic bullying in U.S. schools. The kit costs $20 per school and it has a  simple slogan and objective: “Every student deserves a safe space”.

On the 15th October, 2010, the Society for Research on Child Development (SRCD) published Issue 4 of its 2010 SocialPolicy Report which focused on Safe Schools Policy for LGBTQ Students. The report was written by Stephen T Russell (University of Arizona), Joseph Kosciw (GLSEN), Stacey Horn (University of Illinois at Chicago), and Elizabeth Saewyc (University of British Columbia, Canada). Commentaries were written by Ian Rivers (Brunel University, UK), Susan M Swearer (University of Nebraska- Lincoln), Daniel O’Donnell (New York State Assembly), and Marko Liias (Washington State Representative).

The National Lesbian and Gay Task Force together with the National Center for Transgender Equality published, on 3rd February, 2011, Injustice At Every Turn: The National Transgender Discrimination Survey, with evidence collated from 6,450 trans or gender non-confoirming citizens in the U.S.  Overall, the results showed that the majority lived in extreme poverty with 41% reporting having attempted suicide and 78% having experienced harassment (one sixth having left school because of it). Participants who had been harassed by teachers at school were found to have  “dramatically” worse health outcomes when compared to those who had not experienced harassment.