GLBT Students Face Danger in the Schools

This is sad but not surprising. My son and I have talked about his high school experiences years ago. Times may have changed since then but not nearly fast enough.

Below is an excerpt from Human Rights Watch. Click on the link for the whole article along with reports of school conditions in Zambia and Iraq.

In the United States, only 55 percent of students say they feel safe in school. Human Rights Watch found that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in many U.S. schools are particularly vulnerable to unrelenting harassment from their peers. Despite the pervasiveness of the abuse, few school officials intervened to stop the harassment or to hold the abusive students accountable; in fact, some teachers and administrators encouraged or participated in the abuse. Over time, verbal harassment often escalated into sexual harassment and other forms of physical violence. These violations were compounded by the failure of federal, state, and local governments to enact laws that would provide students with express protection from discrimination based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

One of our local high schools now has a Gay-Straight Alliance over the screams and howls of fundamentalists who were sure it would lead to degeneracy and worse. So far, most of their membership is "straight". The GLBT kids are frightened. I hope that will change but it's good to see the kids trying to make a difference.

Sadly, many schools have gone so far as to prohibit all clubs rather than allow the Gay-Straight Alliance on their campuses. With this reactionary thinking from parents and school administrators, it's a small wonder the hate is passed from generation to generation.

Thanks to Mother Jones for the link to Human Rights Watch.