"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."
In an effort to improve the lives of gay schoolchildren, the government has for the first time issued guidance on how to tackle homophobic bullying in schools (CYP Now, 19-25 September 2007). Children's Secretary Ed Balls says: "Homophobic insults should be viewed as seriously as racism. Even casual use of homophobic language in schools can be the forerunner of more serious forms of bullying."
But Ben Summerskill, chief executive of the charity Stonewall, says: "Homophobic language is endemic in schools, and more often than not teachers turn a blind eye to it. At those schools where children are explicitly taught that homophobic bullying is wrong, rates of such bullying are reduced dramatically."
Education
A survey by Stonewall earlier this year found 65 per cent of young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils have experienced direct bullying. In faith schools, the figure is as high as 75 per cent, according to the charity's School Report 2007. Half of teachers fail to respond to homophobic language when they hear it, according to the report.
However, when schools do intervene and make it clear to pupils that homophobic bullying is wrong, there is a big difference, with 60 per cent of gay young people more likely not to have been bullied. Jan Bridget, manager of Gaylic (Gay and Lesbian Youth in Calderdale), claims it is particularly difficult for schoolchildren in rural areas as people there "tend to be quite backward and there are high levels of homophobia".
Research carried out by Gaylic revealed LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) children and young people in Calderdale, Yorkshire are twice as likely to be bullied in school than those in London. In what Bridget refers to as "an historic moment in Calderdale," Gaylic was recently invited by a school to do a presentation on homophobic bullying. "It was groundbreaking and I am still amazed it happened," she said.
The presentation was given by five young people aged between 17 and 20 to a school sixth form of 90 pupils. "We read out the poem of an ex-Gaylic member who had been beaten up and we looked at the effect homophobic bullying can have, such as self-harming and suicide," says Bridget.
Nick Quayle, 19, a member of Gaylic, took part in the presentation and says he was really impressed at the way young people at the school listened. "We did a presentation to the Upper Sixth and they seemed very receptive and we did one to the Lower Sixth where there were some sniggers and laughs but we expected that. It is still such a taboo subject and there is a real small town mentality in Calderdale. We already have a new member from doing our presentation at the school and he is coming to the group next week."
Bridget adds: "The teachers were really positive and said they would tell other schools about us." She believes the situation is even worse at primary schools where parents and religious organisations are very quick to condemn any kind of awareness raising of gay issues. "I think that it will be another 10 to 20 years before primary schools feel confident enough to invite us to do these kind of presentations," she says.
The government's guidance on homophobic bullying has been developed in partnership with Stonewall and Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (Each). It forms part of the government's overarching Safe to Learn guidance and gives practical advice on how to prevent and respond to homophobic bullying. But official statistics show how difficult tackling this form of bullying is.
In 2006, the Scottish Executive published research by LGBT Youth Scotland that revealed 70 per cent of schools make explicit reference to racist bullying in their anti-bullying policies, but only a quarter refer to sexual orientation and homophobia. And in 2002, the then Department for Education and Skills revealed in its revised anti-bullying guidance that nearly all schools had anti-bullying policies, but only six per cent referred to homophobic bullying.
Implementing policy
Paul Hartnett, a former special needs teacher, was a victim of homophobic bullying at an all boys Catholic school in West London run by Benedictine monks. He now visits schools giving talks on how to tackle sexism, racism and homophobic abuse. During the talk he dresses up as a police officer visiting a school where a homophobic incident has been reported, emphasising that homophobic bullying is a crime. "Many schools struggle with putting policies in place, especially faith schools. When I go into schools I tell them one of the worst things is to do nothing," he says.
Hartnett's school days were extremely unhappy. "Julian Clary was a year below me at school and we were both persecuted," he says. He knows of a number of people who have successfully sued their former schools for being in breach of their duty of care by not providing them with a safe environment. Hartnett predicts schools will soon have to contend with "a massive wave of pupils litigating against them".Sadly, it is often money that gets to the root of problems and it is only when local authorities are sued that people will sit up and take action, he says.
If schools really wish to tackle homophobic bullying seriously, they need to be thinking about inclusion across school policies, practices and the curriculum, according to Sue Sanders, co-chair of Schools Out. She says: "LGBT people and issues need to be visible in the school and in all the curriculum." The school should celebrate LGBT history month every February, acknowledge the International Day against Homophobia in May, and have an LGBT dimension to events like Black History Month. Any negative use of the word gay needs to be challenged and any homophobic bullying must always be dealt with, according to Sanders.
Bridget would like to see the government make it a duty for local authorities to tackle homophobic bullying. She believes until then the guidelines will remain just that, with schools able to take or leave them, while others call for the guidance to be mandatory. Bridget says: "Those schools that continue to fail to challenge homophobia are creating the homophobes of the future."
CASE STUDY - Stoke Newington Media Arts College, Hackney, London
"Students assume gay people are another race and live on another planet. I wanted to let them know that gay people are everywhere, they have contributed to world history and they are even working in this school," says Elly Barnes, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) co-ordinator at Stoke Newington Media Arts College in Hackney, London. Two years ago, Barnes, head of Year 9, decided to celebrate LGBT History Month at the school. "The culture of calling other students gay when they did something foolish was the main incentive, as was the lack of understanding about gay people in general," she says.
Barnes initially faced challenges and says even the head teacher voiced his concerns, after parents complained. Another member of staff accused her of promoting homosexuality in the school.
During LGBT month, the school held an assembly with music and did a presentation on the school's code of conduct, Stonewall, gay symbols, gay history and famous gay people. "Six girls tried to walk out of the Year 9 assembly because they were Christians and their parents had said they were not to take part in any of the LGBT celebrations," she says. The school stated that "students must not be racist, sexist or homophobic," so the girls had to attend the assembly despite their views.
The month was integrated into the curriculum with pupils discussing the "gay gene" in science classes, the treatment of gay people in concentration camps in humanities, the rainbow flag and its meanings in technology. The finale involved a gay student, who had not come out, singing An Easier Affair - a George Michael song about coming out. This was met with cheers from pupils.
Barnes believes openly discussing homosexuality has had a huge impact on the school. "It has changed the lives of students and staff."
ANTI-BULLYING WEEK 2007
The themes of this year's Anti-Bullying Week, which runs from 19-23 November, are cyberbullying, schools and the community. The Anti-Bullying Alliance has put together a resource pack to help all schools in England prepare for anti-bullying week.
Chris Cloke, chair of the alliance, says: "Our top tips give some fun ideas for taking part, including Blue Friday on 23rd November, a day when all pupils are encouraged to wear blue for the day to show their support."
Another anti-bullying organisation, Actionwork, is encouraging schools to get involved by putting on activities such as school assemblies, as well as poetry and poster competitions on the theme of bullying.
Further information www.antibullyingweek.co.uk.
