The Lancashire Division of the National Union of Teachers last week published a new report on the prevalence of homophobia in schools.
"The Prevalence of Homophobia Study" surveyed members of Lancashire NUT and highlights:
* 57.6 of teachers had overheard / observed homophobic abuse in their school on a daily / weekly basis.
* 39% of teachers consider that their school is vigorously addressing homophobia.
* 47% of teachers would welcome specific training to help them better address homophobia in their classroom.
Janet Madigan, Secretary of Lancashire NUT puts the study in context with other recent research into homophobia in schools. She says: “Research by Stonewall and nearby Liverpool MBC suggests homophobic bullying in schools is at endemic levels (School Report 2007) and is the second most common source of abuse in our schools.
“The level of abuse in Lancashire schools revealed by this report suggests that Lancashire schoolchildren and teachers are subjected to similar endemic levels of homophobic abuse within their learning and teaching environment.”
The connection between the young age of those responsible for the homophobic attacks on James Parkes in Liverpool and Ian Baynham in London, and their proximity to the UK education system, has led many gay rights campaigners to call on education leaders to do more to challenge homophobia in schools.
Sue Sanders, co-chair of the anti homophobic bullying organisation - Schools OUT - said: “The Department for Children, Schools and Families, local authorities and schools must wake up to the urgent necessity to challenge such hate crimes in their schools. Not to act is to condemn more families and individuals to the horror unfolding on the streets. They know homophobia and transphobia are rife in our schools, but most teachers have still had little if any training on LGBT issues. Teaching colleagues who participated in the North West NUT survey have overwhelmingly asked their schools for training to effectively address homophobia in their schools – now it’s over to the DCSF, Local Authorities and schools to act."
Avis Gilmore, North West NUT Regional Secretary highlighted his concerns at what the survey means for the rest of the region, he said: “We are now working towards a comprehensive survey for the North West of England as we believe that the survey evidence already seen in Oldham and Lancashire could sadly be replicated elsewhere."
To read the Prevalence of Homophobia Report, visit:
www.lancashirenut.org.uk/show_news.php?news_id=57