UNESCO: Report shows homophobic and transphobic violence in education to be a global problem

In some countries, 85% of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students experience homophobic and transphobic violence in school, 45 % of transgender students drop out. Homophobic violence also targets 33% of students who are wrongly perceived to be LGBT because they do not appear to conform to gender norms.

These are the findings from Out In The Open, a global report on education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression. Compiled by UNESCO, the report reveals the nature, scope and impact of the violence, the status of education sector responses and recommendations for the way forward.   Read more via UNESCO 

UK: School pupils produce films to take on homophobic bullying

Pupils across Wales have been producing anti-homophobic films as part of a project tackling bullying in schools. Figures released by equality charity Stonewall, found over half to young gay people experience homophobic bullying and 40 per cent of those bullied have attempted, or thought about attempting, to end their own lives.

Now schools across Wales are producing a series of eight short films dealing with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender bullying as part of a project run by the Iris Prize Festival. Among those taking part in project are pupils from Aberdare Community School, who chose to focus on bisexuality in their film.

All the films are available to watch for free on Youtube and pupils at the school hope their feature will help others learn more about homophobic discrimination.  

Read more via ITV

UK: Young gay, bisexual men six times more likely to attempt suicide than older counterparts

Conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and funded by Stonewall, the study found gay and bisexual men under the age of 26 were six times more likely to attempt suicide or self-harm compared to men in that group aged over 45. They were also twice as likely to be depressed or anxious. The researchers say the results reinforce the importance of mental health interventions reaching those who need them most, as well as people who actively seek help.

The study is the first to examine the mental health differences within gay and bisexual men in the UK. Using data from the Stonewall Gay and Bisexual Men's Health Survey, the researchers analysed responses of 5,799 gay and bisexual men aged 16 and over living in the UK. Depression, anxiety, attempted suicide and self-harm were examined against a range of life factors. Age, ethnicity, income and education were all found to have a large impact on mental health.

Black gay and bisexual men were twice as likely to be depressed and five times more likely to have attempted suicide than the white majority. Men in the lower wage bracket were more likely to be depressed, anxious, attempt suicide or self-harm. Those with lower levels of education were twice as likely to experience one of those issues compared to those with degree level education, only in part due to earning a lower wage. Read more via Science Daily 

Australia: LGBT youths are turning to Facebook to find a safe place to live

Increasingly, LGBT youth are turning to “Queer Housing” groups on Facebook to find housemates they trust will be accepting. The groups have cropped up across Australia’s biggest cities and beyond – Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga.

Admins say they fill a crucial gap between underfunded emergency service providers and generic house-hunting websites, where LGBT people might end up with people who seem friendly but don’t accept their sexuality or gender.

Adelaide woman Shaylee Leach started the Queer Housing Adelaide group after experiencing “secondary homelessness” – bouncing between friends without a stable roof over her head.  The higher rates of mental illness and unemployment experienced by LGBT people can make house hunting difficult.  Read more via Buzzfeed

South Africa: Student movement splinters as patriarchy muscles out diversity

It was a shocking series of images: a young woman - Thenjiwe Mswane - being violently handled by a group of young men. Mswane was part of a largely feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersexed, queer and asexual (LGBTIQA+) student group. They had gathered at Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand to protest against the exclusion and marginalisation of groups and members of the #FeesMustFall movement from a recent campaign. She was attacked by other members of the #FeesMustFall movement after she'd confronted them with her group's concerns.

In 2015 South Africa's student movement was an impressive force. But cracks are appearing along party political, ideological and class lines. More recently the question of gender, and the equality of LGBTIQA+ individuals, have come to the fore.

A strident fringe at universities, with limited but vocal support off campuses, asserts that addressing the equality of women and the marginalisation of LGBTIQA+ people is a "distraction" from the unity of black struggle and that it must wait until after some mythical revolution. Others, also enjoying some support in wider society, insist that the equality of women and LGBTIQA+ people must be part of any genuinely radical action.  Read more via the Conversation

US: Students denied access to LGBT resource websites

The Sioux Falls School District’s internet filter carries an anti-LGBT bias, students say. Students are barred from accessing LGBT resource sites such as “It Gets Better” and “GLADD” on district devices according to Roosevelt High School senior and former city council candidate Briggs Warren.

Students who try to reach these sites are met with a large exclamation point under bold red letters reading, “access denied.” At the same time, conservative sites such as the Family Resource Council and Focus on the Family are accessible, meaning that students are able to reach sites projecting negative views of homosexuality but not those with positive views.

LGBT youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers, according to The Trevor Project, a suicide hotline specific to gay and questioning youth. This makes the blocked sites all the more troubling, according to ACLU executive director Heather Smith.

“Schools that block these resources, intentionally or otherwise, are sending a message that being gay, bisexual or transgender is wrong or shameful,” Smith said in a statement.  Read more via USA Today

South Africa: After Monday's Event At Wits We Know the Student Movement Has Been Deeply Fractured

In the confusion of an attempted campus shutdown at Wits on Monday, the national student movement suffered a severe fragmentation. And it's not like the movements across campuses this year have been a testimony to unity anyway. 

A protest at Wits University on Monday did not outline any specific demands, and many students - including those involved in the movement - questioned its legitimacy, after it came to light that secret and closed meetings had been held over the weekend. The labelling of the movement as "intersectional" was also doubted when it emerged that some members of the movement regarded feminism and consideration of LGBTIAQ+ rights as divisive to the movement.

Many called out the patriarchal culture characterizing the movement and spoke against defending student leaders who were violating women. Two images of female protesters being restrained by male protesters are being circulated on social media‚ prompting angry outbursts.

This is how the partial shutdown unfolded. Read more via All Africa

Greece: LGBTQ TEI Athens takes stand against homophobic bullying

A statement from LGBTQ TEI Athens: Homophobic and sexist attacks that occurred recently in various schools across Greece neither surprise us nor leave us speechless. e unfortunately are accustomed to hearing and experiencing these attacks. But we realized that these events must no longer remain hidden, but rather people like us must speak out. Read more via Gay Hellas

Germany: This politician thinks teaching kids about gay rights will turn the country back to the 1940s and 50s

Katrin Ebner-Steiner, a member of the euro-sceptic right-wing Alternative für Deutschland (Alternative for Germany, AfD) in Bavaria, criticized the decision to make LGBTI issues a compulsory part of sexual education, claiming that including LGBTI issues in state-wide education would create an educational system like in East Germany.

In a video released on the party’s official Youtube Channel, the politician accused the government to introduce ‘ideological indoctrination’ into schools.

‘Our little ones won’t just have to sit through enforced lessons about all variations of sexual life together,’ she said. ‘They will also hear details about homo-, bi- and trans sexuality.’ Read more via Gay Star News

UK: Teachers call for more help to support transgender kids

A motion passed at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference said transgender children were not getting the support they needed in schools, as the structures and expertise required simply did not exist.

According to the charity Metro Youth Chances, 83% of transgender young people have been bullied, 35% have suffered physical attacks, and 27% have attempted suicide.
In addition, 94% of LGBTQ young people said they had learned nothing about transgender issues in school.

“We are not addressing the issues effectively in many schools and colleges,” said Julia Neal, the deputy director of a sixth form in Devon who proposed the motion before the union’s conference. “I want to emphasize the need for specialist training for senior managers and governors. Leaders need to be prepared to guide staff and support young people.”  Read more via Buzzfeed

Despite gains for LGBT Jews, frum families still feeling alienated

A pioneering survey of Orthodox parents of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender children released last week found that many families remain closeted in their communities because of disapproval from rabbis or other community leaders.

Of the over 100 parents surveyed from across the country, nearly a third of respondents (27 percent) said they viewed their rabbi or community as homophobic, and over 73 percent of parents said there have been no public forums or classes on the topic of LGBT Jews in their community. According to the study, Orthodox day schools do not make public policy statements about the treatment or admission of LGBT students or staff or about teacher training on the subject. 

Among the survey’s other key findings was that synagogue rabbis are among the last resources parents seek out for help when their child comes out, despite an increased focus on counseling across rabbinic school curricula. Read more via the Jewish Week

Belgium: Gay couples discuss their experiences with adoption

Tom De Cock launches his new book, in which he shares his personal experience with adoption. Often adoption by gay people is not so positive in the picture, and Tom would like to correct a few things.