LGBTQI inclusion within education is still lacking in most European countries, with particular focus needed on:

mandatory teacher training on LGBTQI awareness,
compulsory curricula which needs to be inclusive of LGBTQI people,
and national bullying data segregated by grounds of discrimination (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression and variations in sex characteristics).

Today (Monday 14 May 2018), IGLYO - The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer & Intersex (LGBTQI) Youth and Student Organisation, will present the first edition of the LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index and Report at the 6th Annual IDAHOT Forum in Lisbon, Portugal. These much-needed resources provide a comprehensive account of LGBTQI inclusion within state schools in each Council of Europe Member State (and Belarus and Kosovo).

Over the last two years, IGLYO has been working with civil society organisations and education experts to gather in-depth data on LGBTQI inclusion within secondary schools. This research measures inclusive education by using ten comparable indicators, first created by LGBTQI young people, and then further developed by a group of international experts, to align with UNESCO’s comprehensive inclusive education recommendations. IGLYO has also segregated the information by grounds of discrimination (sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and variations in sex characteristics) to ensure that no learners within the LGBTQI spectrum are overlooked. IGLYO’s Executive Coordinator, Euan Platt, explains that “the LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index and Report clearly show what progress has already been made, highlights good practices, and draws attention to areas which still need improvement.” 16 governments have already directly engaged in the project, providing feedback for the final report. IGLYO’s Executive Coordinator continues by saying: “we hope, however, this is just the starting point of a long-term partnership between national governments, local civil society organisations, and IGLYO to ensure education is safe, supportive and inclusive of all learners all across Europe.”

Out of the 49 countries reviewed, currently there are only four that provide most of these measures (Malta, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden). Some regions of Spain have also developed inclusive laws and policies, but they have not been implemented nationally. By contrast, eleven countries have failed to implement any measure at the time of conducting this research (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Latvia, Macedonia, Monaco, Poland, Russia, San Marino, Turkey and Ukraine) and two have made international commitments without implementing any other measures (Liechtenstein and Moldova).

he research also shows that:

30 Council of Europe Member States and Kosovo have already developed anti-discrimination laws that are applicable to education and state sexual orientation, gender identity and expression or variations in sex characteristics as protected grounds.
22 Member States have developed national or regional action plans to prevent and address discrimination in, at least, one of the mentioned grounds.
Legal gender recognition based on self-determination is only available in 4 countries for learners under 16.
Compulsory curricula that is inclusive of LGBTQI people is only present in 19 countries.
Mandatory teacher training on LGBTQI awareness is only present in 4 countries.
National bullying data, segregated by protected characteristics is currently only collected by 5 countries.

Rubén Ávila, IGLYO’s Education Officer, who has coordinated the project, says: “research shows that learners who are, or are perceived to be, LGBTQI are still more likely to experience violence at school. Council of Europe Member States, however, are responsible for the care of these learners and have the duty to guarantee their right to quality education. The LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index and Report provide governments and civil society organisations with a clear account of what has already been achieved, but most importantly, where further work is needed. If we want to seriously tackle homophobia, biphobia, transphobia or interphobia within education and wider society, we need to go beyond reactively addressing discrimination as it occurs to positively include LGBTQI realities and experiences throughout the school culture and curriculum.”

IGLYO will release the second edition of the LGBTQI Inclusive Education Index and Report in 2020 but will continue to update the website with any developments as they happen. Contributors and reviewers are invited to contact the organisation with any feedback or updates. For the next stage of the project, IGLYO is also launching an Inclusive Education Mentorship Programme, where the organisation will work intensively with governments and local NGOs to review their current progress on LGBTQI inclusion and support them to make concrete improvements in this area.

The full results can be viewed at www.education-index.org.

For further information, please contact: education@iglyo.com.