Bullying and Harassment of LGBTQ Youth
Taken from the Georgia Safe Schools Coalition.
Key Findings from GLSEN’s From Teasing to Torment: A Report on School Climate in Georgia*
Biased language was frequently heard in Georgia schools
- A majority of Georgia students reported hearing homophobic remarks, such as “that’s so gay” (82%) or derogatory terms such as “faggot” or “dyke” (75%), from students in their school. A majority (80%) also reported hearing sexist remarks in their schools.
- Negative remarks about a person’s gender expression, such as a girl acting “too much like a boy,” were also commonly heard in Georgia schools — two-thirds (66%) of respondents heard negative comments about gender expression from their peers.
- School authorities did not consistently intervene when hearing biased language in school. Less than a third of Georgia students reported that teachers or other school staff frequently intervened when hearing homophobic (23%), racist (26%) or sexist (30%) remarks in school.
- Students heard biased language from school staff as well — almost a quarter (22%) reported hearing faculty or other school staff make sexist remarks, and nearly a fifth heard homophobic (18%) or racist (18%) remarks from school staff.
Bullying, name-calling and harassment were serious problems in Georgia schools
- Nearly half (49%) of Georgia students reported bullying, name calling and harassment to be serious problems in their school, which was higher than for students nationally (36%). Only a third (34%) reported feeling very safe at school.
- Almost half (46%) of the students reported feeling at-risk at school because of at least one personal characteristic, such as their physical appearance or sexual orientation.
- Students reported that physical appearance and sexual orientation were the most common reasons students were harassed at school. About half reported that students were frequently victimized based on their physical appearance (52%), and 48% said students were frequently bullied or harassed based on sexual orientation.
- Georgia students were more likely to report that their peers were bullied, called names or harassed based on sexual orientation, physical appearance, academic ability and family income than students nationally.
- Reports of verbal harassment, particularly because of one’s physical appearance, were not uncommon among Georgia students. Five out of ten (50%) youth had been verbally harassed in the past year because of their physical appearance, and a quarter (24%) had been physically harassed or assaulted based on this characteristic.
Incidents of harassment and assault were often not reported to teachers or other school staff. When reported, responses of school staff were often inadequate
- More than a half (54%) of students who had been harassed or assaulted in school did not report the incident to a teacher, principal or other school staff person, often because they believed that reporting incidents would make the situation worse or that school personnel would not take action to resolve it.
- Among students who did report incidents of harassment or assault, only a third (33%) said that school authorities took immediate action to address the situation.
LGBT students lacked access to resources and supports
- Only 9% of students reported that their school had a GSA or other type of student club addressing LGBT student issues, which was much lower than the national percentage (22%).
- Students at schools with a supportive student club were much less likely to say that bullying and harassment were serious problems in their school (17% v. 52%) and were less likely to report that they felt unsafe in their schools (3% vs. 7%).
- Only half (51%) of Georgia students reported that they were protected by a comprehensive school anti-harassment or safe schools policy that explicitly mentioned sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. More than a quarter (29%) was unsure whether or not their school had a protective policy of any kind.
- Students at schools without comprehensive safe schools policies were more likely to have been harassed than those at schools with these types of policies. For example, youth at schools without a comprehensive policy were six times as likely to have been verbally harassed based on their sexual orientation (55% vs. 9%).
Recommendations
- Teachers and other school staff need training to address the inconsistency in their responses when hearing students make derogatory remarks and when learning of incidents of harassment and assault in school. In addition, schools should establish and enforce “no tolerance” policies regarding the use of biased language by school staff.
- Students who attended Georgia schools that had a student club addressing LGBT student issues, such as a Gay-Straight Alliance, reported a safer learning environment. Given this finding, every effort should be made to support students who seek to improve school climate by starting and sustaining these clubs in their schools.
- Given only a half of Georgia students reported being protected by comprehensive anti-harassment policies in their schools, state-level safe school legislation that provides specific enumerated categories, such as sexual orientation and race, must be adopted.
- Given that more than a quarter of Georgia students did not know if their school had an anti-harassment policy of any kind, school staff and administrators must ensure that students are made fully aware of any anti-harassment protections provided by their school.
GLSEN (2006). From teasing to torment: A report on school climate in Georgia. New York: GLSEN
* Reprinted with permission from GLSEN
Georgia’s Anti-bullying Statutes
Although Georgia has some laws regarding bullying in public schools, there have been efforts over the past several years to strengthen anti-bullying provisions for all students, especially those who are subject to bullying due to real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
As school counselors, your advocacy plays a critical effort in strengthening legislation and policies on both a local and statewide level.
If you are interested in knowing the latest on efforts to pass anti-bullying legislation or to become involved in this work, please contact Georgia Equality at www.georgiaequality.org
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-145
As part of a comprehensive character education program for grades K-12, this statute encourages schools to address methods that discourage bullying and violent behavior against other students.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-751.4
This statute defines bullying as, “Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury on another person, when accompanied by an apparent present ability to do so” or “Any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily harm.” It also states that local school boards should adopt policies for students in grades 6-12 that prohibit bullying and that middle and high schools should include these prohibitions in the students code of conduct.
O.C.G.A. § 20-2-751.5
This statute addresses student codes of conduct. More specifically, it encourages the inclusion of certain provisions intended to address the behavior of students at school and during school functions. Bullying, both verbal and physical is included among the aforementioned behaviors needing to be addressed.
Retrieved July 12, 2009 from http://www.lexis-nexis.com/hottopics/gacode/
