LGBTTQ+ students picked on, feel unsafe: report

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This article was published 31/03/2022 (1291 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Student members of the LGBTTQ+ community are far more likely to be victims of targeted harassment and feel unsafe at school than their peers who are cisgender and heterosexual, Manitoba researchers have found — once again.

A decade ago, local academics partnered with advocacy organization Egale Canada to launch Every Class in Every School, a groundbreaking report on the state of homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in classrooms across the country.

Researchers at the University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg recently dusted off the document and undertook a followup survey to determine whether schools are safer for marginalized students now.

The title of their new report: “Still In Every Class In Every School,” sums up their findings.

“There’s been really important and significant improvements, which is heartening to see — but at the same time, it’s also a bit disheartening to see how little things have changed,” said Christopher Campbell, a co-investigator on the new report and PhD candidate in U of M’s faculty of education.

The initial survey, conducted throughout 2008-09, found 64 per cent of LGBTTQ+ students felt unsafe at school.

That figure dropped to 62 per cent in the 2021 edition, a 158-page document that draws from responses submitted by students in Grade 8 or higher between April 2019 and May 2020.

Upwards of 3,500 students from across the country participated in both studies, which involved a mix of multiple-choice and open-ended questions.

Campbell, alongside principal investigator Tracey Peter, presented their new findings to educators across the province this week during a lecture organized by U of M and the Manitoba Teachers’ Society.

Peter, a sociology professor at the U of M, told the audience the number of LGBTTQ+ students reporting verbal harassment related to everything from sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression has dropped over time by nine per cent, six per cent, and 10 per cent, respectively. Still, she said, far too many students are being directly targeted.

The 2021 report shows LGBTTQ+ students reported five times more verbal harassment about their sexual orientation than their cisgender and heterosexual peers.

The experiences of racialized students are also stark, with 64 per cent of Indigenous members of the LGBTTQ+ community reporting verbal harassment in relation to their gender identity or expression. Sixty-one per cent of those who identified as mixed-race, 42 per cent of Black participants, 42 per cent of Asian learners, and 53 per cent of white students responded similarly.

LGBTTQ+ respondents also reported higher incidences of physical bullying in comparison to the student population at large.

When it came to labeling different areas of their schools safe, LGBTTQ+ students were also more likely than others to see washrooms, change rooms, hallways, and phys-ed classes as unsafe places for them.

Campbell said it is heartbreaking to read comments from students featured in the report. They describe school as a toxic environment because they are forced to spend so much time there. At the same time, he said other positive excerpts from students illustrate the profound difference that supportive schools can make.

“Never underestimate the effect that small interventions or changes can have for students,” Campbell said.

“I don’t expect all teachers to suddenly be experts in (LGBTTQ+) education, but even small changes can have a big effect — including representation in the curriculum, respecting peoples’ pronouns, even acting as an ally or advocate for (LGBTTQ+) students can go a long way. It lessens those feelings of exclusion or marginalization when those things happen.”

In a statement to the Free Press, the president of the teachers society said the union has been advocating for updates to Manitoba’s health curriculum since 2018 and is pleased the government has committed to reviewing the phys-ed and health education documents.

“Continued failure to address areas like gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, etc. does a disservice to all of Manitoba’s students,” said James Bedford, who represents upwards of 16,000 public school educators.

“The inclusion of (LGBTTQ+) issues in curriculum can help reduce stereotypes and biases as well as ensure (LGBTTQ+) students — who disproportionately feel the effects of bullying in schools — a safer, improved educational experience.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @macintoshmaggie