Face the question of homophobia at school: why, how and with whom?

Text taken from the pedagogical guide "I fight the homophobie: pour una école ouverte à la diversity"Curated by Tanguy Pinxteren and Florence Tamagne, published by the Ministry of the Fancese Community of Belgium, 2005, pp.9-11, freely translated Gianluca Caselunghe

This guide faces the fight against homophobia and promotes a school open to diversity. The minority sexual orientation is treated here without establishing moral or social hierarchies between the differences, in order to objectively inform young people and not to impose a relational model adopted by the majority. When young people discover and build their identity, sexual orientation is presented as one of the aspects of a relational system including more dimensions: love, emotional, sexual, identity, conjugal and parental. The emphasis is placed on the abandonment of prejudices and homophobic attitudes or behaviors and on the development of self -esteem.

The school, space for individual and social emancipation

1.1 Minority sexual orientation: a taboo topic

In a good number of Belgian schools, homosexuality remains a taboo topic. In each institute, there are homosexual teachers and students, children of homo-geniusic families who sometimes deal with an absence of information and/or support. As the study on the "Health Promotion regarding young people of minority sexual orientation" made in the French community in 2003, the school context is one of the main learning places of life in society and contains invaluable potential to encourage education to diversity.

Two studies carried out in Flanders are illuminating in this regard:

- the non -profit organization "De Holebifabriek" carried out an investigation in which the results (K. Pelleriaux, 2001) show that only 10% of pupils claim to have received enough information on homosexuality; 60% of them say they have no problem with homosexuality but the majority admits that "if I were homosexual, I wouldn't say it to anyone".

- A study by the University of Gand (J. Vincke, 1999) has highlighted that 85% of the homosexual or bisexual orientation people say they have never heard of homosexuality in their school paths, between 15% of those who have heard of it, 60% are said to be dissatisfied with the way they have heard of it or the content of the information received.

1.2 The school, a place of integration of social and legal evolutions

In many cases, the first place where a young gay or young lesbian experience the incomprehension and, sometimes, homophobic violence is his family. The school is later the place where the manifestations of homophobia still crystallize too often. Several young gays and lesbians wondering about their sexual orientation do not hesitate to affirm that the school for them is a real nightmare. Witnesses or victims of homophobic violence, these young people live for the most of the time their sexual guidelines in isolation, secrecy and shame. Fearing the indignation of those around them, they seek little help and, for these reasons, they do not benefit from the necessary support that teachers and staff in the school could offer them.

Homophobia that is practiced against them can manifest themselves as verbal violence (teases, insults), psychological (harassment and intimidation), physics (aggression and rape). Homophobia can also be directed towards young people who, for their attitudes, behaviors or ways of dressing, are unleashed from the rules traditionally associated with femininity and masculinity. Generally, the insults and homophobic beffes are heard in the classes and corridors of the schools. The intimidation and attacks are, most of the time, carried out unbeknownst to teachers and staff, in places such as the school courtyard, the changing rooms and school buses, before the hours of lessons.

According to J. Vincke's study, these acts of violence are more often committed by the boys of the second cycle of the primary. The testimonies of young gays and lesbians show us that the frequency of these acts and their brutality intensify during the secondary degrees (J. Vincke, 1998, 2000). However, it should not be believed that homophobia is exclusive to boys: girls are also authors of homophobic violence. Although less frequent, the violence exercised by the girls often takes the forms of the labeling and stigmatization of their peers. If the boys are usually launching homophobic insults in public towards young people with whom they do not frequent or have little emotional bonds, the girls, as regards them, show prejudices and exclusion towards their companions in the circle of personal female friendships.

Young people from families in whom the reference culture accepts more difficult to often show more significant resistance towards homosexuality. These resistances are often associated with religious beliefs or cultural references, in particular in the case of young people whose parents come from countries where homosexuality is a crime or publicly condemned by institutions.

1.3 The scope and dramatic consequences

There are few studies on the frequency of homophobic attitudes and behaviors in school places. However, data collected in the United States testify to the alarming frequency of homophobic violence experienced by young homosexuals or bisexuals at school and the feeling of insecurity that it generates with each other [1].

In Flanders, Holebifederatie has collected a series of testimonies of aggression suffered by young gays and lesbians:

- Following harassment, a lesbian had to leave the school, the professors and the management did not react to the physical and psychological violence that made her suffer-

- He was forbidden to a pupil to see his boyfriend in the college, the educator explains: "He must have relationships with girls and that there is no homosexual that will return to the Foyer (meeting place)".

- Before his appointment, a professor had to take into account the management on his affiliation to a local group of young gay and lesbians.

- A secondary sixth pupil received a zero for a report on the events of the holidays in which he had drawn up a task referring to the activities of a group of young gays and lesbians. According to the Dutch professor "it cannot be a topic like this here in a relationship".
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[1] Gay Lesbian and Straight Educators Network (GLSEN) carried out two national investigations between the American secondary schools, in 1999 and 2001 Victim of homophobic verbal harassment by other boys, while about ten percent has reported that he had suffered physical homophobic violence during the last school year.

Original text: I fight the homophobie: pour una école ouverte à la diversity