Queer youth at risk in schools

Queer youth at risk in schools

Alarming new Australian research to be launched on Friday shows verbal and physical abuse against same-sex attracted (SSA) youth is on the increase.

Writing Themselves In 3 — the third national report of sexuality, health and well being of SSA and gender questioning young people — shows a marked jump in homophobic violence in Australian schools, with strong links to higher levels of self-harm and suicide in abused youth.

La Trobe university lead researcher Dr Lynne Hillier said since the last report in 2005, the most recent survey of 3134 young people showed a significant jump in homophobic abuse in schools.

“[Homophobic] violence isn’t going down in schools … really there’s evidence of young people reporting more homophobic violence,” Dr Hillier told the Star Observer.

“What we learned is … young people in schools they deemed homophobic were more likely to have self-harmed and they were more likely to have attempted suicide.

“So the idea of a school being supportive and young people feeling safe and in a supportive school … is incredibly important in all of this.”

The report follows last week’s news item about former Ivanhoe Girls’ Grammar student Hannah Williams who was banned from bringing her girlfriend Savannah Supski to the school formal this year.

The school argued the event was designed so students could bring male partners.

Dr Hillier said while the research showed a rise in the number of young people subjected to homophobic abuse, more students are revealing their sexuality than ever before.

“In the first [study], young people were a bit frightened, not knowing what to do, where to go,” she said. “But if you compare the voices from 1998 [the first study] to now, the young people [are] positioned in really good ways, from all of the groups and the internet, there’s so much  more out there.

“I’ve never come across so many determined, strong, strident voices just saying who we are is okay and we want to be recognised … we didn’t have that before.”

Hillier’s research also showed that young participants who mentioned religious themes in their responses were also more likely to self harm.

Last week Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young announced the party would seek an examination of federal anti-discrimination laws.

“Reports that a female student was unable to take her same-sex partner to a school formal are concerning, particularly when our education system should be promoting acceptance and diversity in the school environment,” Hanson-Young said.

“We will introduce a motion into the Senate next week calling for an investigation into the weaknesses of our anti-discrimination laws across the country, and to look into ways we can protect the rights of our young people.”

info: WTi3 will be launched on Friday and
available at www.Latrobe.edu.au

You May Also Like

2 responses to “Queer youth at risk in schools”

  1. At the NSW parliamentary forum on homophobic bullying in schools which previewed parts of this study the lack of research on the bullying of Intersex and Transgender youth was spoken of as clearly a problem needing addressing especially as all available evdience suggested that the problems were worse for Transgender and Intersex people and more violent as well.

    I asked Dr Hillier at the forum about the lack of inclusion of Gender Identity and Expression and Intersex in the studies and she cited technical difficulties in such inclusion in the existing studies but that further work will be done on these areas.

    Something extremely important when the recent Queensland study found 45%-46% of Transgender people had been assaulted, 38% of Male to Female spectrum Transgender people had been assaulted with a weapon and with the recent media release from the National LGBT health Alliance mentioning a Transgender attempted suicide rate of up to 47% (and the exclusion of Transgender and Intersex from many suicide-prevention programs policy and research) clearly it’s the Transgender and Intersex people who face the brunt of homophobia and who need the most help and protection and support.

  2. We seem to be going backwards in LGBT acceptance in this country. Oxford St isnt safe anymore and neither is our schools. Something seriously needs to be done but there seems to be more apathy within the gay community when you compare now to the 1980s for example.

    It’s a real shame that highschools arent safe places for young kids to grow up in and figure out who they are. Being a teenager is hard enough let alone having to deal with your sexuality which is different from everyone else.