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Feature - Bullying: Proud to be gay

6 mins read Education Health
Two-thirds of lesbian and gay young people have been victims of bullying. Sue Learner looks at how schools and youth groups should tackle the problem.

"It became the most normal thing to be walking down a corridor and have everyone part like the Red Sea. Everyone would shout, 'Bums against the wall, Tim's coming'," reveals Tim, a victim of homophobic bullying for five years at a school in Leicestershire. In Year 10, the bullying got worse and Tim was put on antidepressants. "In the mornings on the way to school I'd often sit on the train bridge but never had the courage to do it," he says.

Tim found his teachers gave him no support. "It was a Church of England school and one teacher even mentioned me getting "cured" in a South American cathedral. I was often told I was to blame and that they couldn't help me. They said they didn't have any policy against homophobic bullying and that I just had to take it."

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