Why we need your support...
- More than half of gay young people are still experiencing homophobic bullying in schools.
- Ninety six per cent of gay pupils hear homophobic remarks such as 'poof' or 'lezza' used in school and almost all (99%) of them regularly hear phrases such as 'that's so gay' or 'you're so gay' in school.
- Teachers want to tackle this problem but lack the confidence to do so. Nine in ten staff members at secondary and primary schools have never received any specific training on how to prevent and respond to homophobic bullying.
- As a result, three in five gay pupils who experience homophobic bullying say that teachers who witness the bullying never intervene.
This bullying has profound consequences for the young people who experience it:
- Over thirty per cent of gay pupils who experience homophobic bullying change their plans for future education because of it.
- One in three (32 per cent) gay pupils experiencing bullying change their future educational plans because of it and three in five say it impacts directly on their school work.
- Gay people who are bullied are at a higher risk of suicide, self-harm and depression. Two in five (41 per cent) have attempted or thought about taking their own life directly because of bullying and the same number say that they deliberately self-harm directly because of bullying.
For more information about homophobic bullying in schools please see the School Report 2012, Stonewall's latest research.
Your donation will help us to…
£25 – we can send 3 primary school resource packs – Celebrating Difference – to teachers. This will improve the school experience for 660 primary school pupils – who may be feeling excluded and not able to talk openly about their family.
£50 – we can advise 15 young people, who may be experiencing bullying, through our free Information Service.
£100 – we can provide materials for 5 Stonewall Youth Volunteers as part of a training course which helps them lead their own campaign to tackle homophobia in their local area. 5 Youth Volunteers will impact on at least 750 individuals, including students, teachers, MPs and parents.
We hope you can get involved during Anti-Bullying Week - together we can make a stand against homophobic bullying!
Click here to download our Supporters' Fundraising Pack