Homophobic Bullying
In Schools
Father of deceased teenage boy delivers speech at Stonewall event
Pink Paper, 5 July 2011
The father of a teenage boy who took his own life delivered a keynote speech at Stonewall's Education for All Conference in London during the last week of June 2011.
Dominic Crouch's father, Roger, set out a number of challenges for schools and the government in his key note speech on 1 July 2011.
His son was just 15 years old when he took his own life after alleging that he was the target of bullying. During the speech, Roger (pictured with fellow speaker Gok Wan) described the circumstances that led up to his son's death in May 2010 when he threw himself off of a nearby building.
As part of his moving speech, he called on all schools to treat the spreading of rumours and teasing as bullying – not banter. He also asked that schools be aware that homophobic bullying can affect any pupil – gay or straight.
Sharing a platform with Education Minister, Nick Gibb and Ofsted Director, Sue Gregory, Roger also called on government to adopt a "victim centred” definition of bullying in schools.
He also asked that the government force schools to implement a zero-tolerance policy on bullying and promote dignity and respect for all pupils, ensure Ofsted focus on how effectively schools implement their bullying policies and make local Safeguarding Boards prioritise the linked issues of teenage suicide and bullying.
Roger, a former local authority Director of Children Services said: "I was delighted to hear the Minister's express intent to eradicate homophobia in our schools and impressed by the determination of Ofsted to ensure that schools act on this.
He added: "Dominic's tragic story had a real impact on the delegates and I have received several invitations to talk to schools and local authorities as people realise that this work can help save a young person's life.”
Also speaking at the conference was the fashion guru Gok Wan who shared his personal experiences as a target of bullying.
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Primary teachers 'not comfortable' with confronting gay bullying
Irish Times, 5 July 2011
THE MAJORITY of primary school teachers are too uncomfortable to confront widespread homophobic bullying by young students, a Department of Education in-service course in Dublin has heard.
The week-long course, which is the first of its kind for primary school teachers in Ireland, has been approved by the Department of Education as one of its teacher education summer courses and is supported by the Irish National Teachers' Organisation.
It is being organised by Belong To Youth Services, a group for young gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, in co-ordination with Educate Together, which runs 58 non-denominational schools across Ireland.
Teachers and principals from both Educate Together and traditional church-run schools yesterday heard how young children were learning to associate homosexuality with negativity and the difficulty authority figures had in confronting the problem.
"Teachers are simply not as comfortable dealing with it like they would be if it was racist bullying or any other kind of bullying,” said Molly O'Duffy, a teacher who attended yesterday's course and who is ethos development officer with Educate Together.
While emphasising that children in older classes knew exactly what the term gay meant, Ms O'Duffy explained that for children of all ages, it was often used to describe something they disliked.
"Children, typically boys, can use the word to describe another who is not conforming to a typical stereotype of what a boy is – they understand that it is bad and that it is never good to be called gay.
"We need to be able to give the teachers and the principals the skills to face up to homophobic bullying and deal with it in an age-appropriate way,” Ms O'Duffy added.
Course instructor and advocacy co-ordinator with Belong To Youth Service Carol-Anne O'Brien said this was sorely lacking in the current primary education system.
"It is the type of bullying that they teachers] feel least prepared for. There is a lack of training and support and teachers don't want to take on something that they do not feel comfortable about.”
One of the most alarming topics, according to Ms O'Brien, was the concern that teachers and principals had about how early homophobic bullying behaviour began.
"They are witnessing it in really young students. From the ages of seven and eight, children are name-calling using ‘gay' and ‘queer' and using those words to describe things they don't like.”
Apart from the obvious distress this was likely to cause children who begin to discover their sexuality as they grow older, Ms O'Duffy said such behaviour made life for children from same-sex marriages particularly difficult