Time To Target School Bullying

Local News, By Christian Taylor, 2nd June, 2009

Homohobic bullying in schools is on the agenda in both Victoria and Tasmania. A new policy paper from the Victorian Education Department is pushing schools and teachers to take action to protect vulnerable gay and questioning students from homophobic bullying. And in Tasmania, the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner is pushing to have bullies charged.

The VIC Education Department paper entitled “Supporting Sexual Diversity in Schools” says that schools should foster a culture of openness and should celebrate diversity. They should also nip bullying issues in the bud, recognise same-sex attracted young people as part of the school’s everyday social mix, and make sure that information and contact details for support services are made readily available.

Under the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act 1995 students are to be protected from discrimination in education on the grounds of actual or assumed sexual orientation, their gender identity, or the orientation / identity of their parents, friends or family. As such, teachers have a responsibility to ensure that strategies and measures are in place to uphold this law. If a school staff member ‘turns a blind eye’, they may be held liable for assisting discrimination.

Associate Professor Anne Mitchell from La Trobe University told News.com.au that some teachers don’t stand up for students experiencing homophobia because they’re scared of being labelled gay themselves.

“Some people have strong religious beliefs or if they’re older people who were brought up in the era when homosexuality was considered an illness or was illegal, then maybe those beliefs still sit there unchallenged,” said Mitchell.

The Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commission will be working with the Education Department later this year on an inquiry into bullying in Tasmanian schools and why students are targeted.

Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said that homophobic bullying is one of the most pervasive and destructive forms of harassment in schools, and that he welcomes the inquiry. He urges students suffering homophobic bullying to report their experiences to the Anti-Discrimination Commission.

The call comes in the wake of confirmation from Tasmanian Anti- Discrimination Commissioner, Sarah Bolt, that school bullying is illegal under the state’s anti-bias laws and perpetrators will face “legal ramifications”.

“Schools can be breeding grounds of hate, but we know from successful anti-homophobia programs that they can also be seed-beds tolerance and respect,” said Croome.

According to ‘Writing Themselves In Again’, the 2005 report into the health and well-being of same sex attracted young Australians, 44% of respondents said that they’d suffered verbal homophobia and 16% reported homophobic physical assault. Verbal abuse included name-calling, insults, threats and rumours, while physical abuse ranged from having clothes and possessions damaged to rape and hospitalisation for injuries.

Unsurprisingly, the most dangerous place for gay youth is school – 74% of all the reported abuse happened there.

According to America’s National Youth Violence Prevention Centre, bullying cuts both ways – victims as adults suffer from depression and poor self-esteem, but 60% of those who were bullies in grades 6-9 had at least one criminal conviction by age 24.