A report released by the Youth Empowerment Project found punishing young people for expressing intolerant views towards lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people is not effective.
Instead, the Empowering Young People To Tackle Homophobic Bullying report said promoting human rights education is more likely to have a positive effect.
Lewis Parle, the Youth Empowerment Project's leader, said punitive measures are not necessarily the best route forward. "It's a common theme," Parle said. "If all you're doing is punishing this behaviour, it doesn't lead to a greater understanding."
The research found that promoting equal human rights was more effective, as it created a new way of thinking for the young person. The project will now train six young people in human rights and ethics to work with a further 20 young people from various backgrounds about the issue and how it affects them. The team will use the findings to create policies to tackle homophobic bullying.
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