Florida’s LGBT students find the state’s public schools unsafe, according to a new study by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN) released March 21.
The 2011 National School Climate Survey reports that 9 in 10 students heard the word “gay” used in a derogatory way and also heard other students make negative remarks about how some students choose to express their gender.
32 percent of students reported hearing biased language from school staff while 25 percent said they regularly heard school staff make homophobic remarks.
Eight in ten students said they experienced verbal harassment based on their sexual orientation, and about 2 out of 3 were verbally harassed for how they express their gender.
Many students also reported physical harassment and assault based on their sexual orientation, with 4 in 10 physically harassed by another student (as in, pushed or shoved) and 1 in 10 assaulted (as in punched, kicked or injured with a weapon).
The vast majority of students – 90 percent – said they felt deliberately excluded by their peers and more than half were cyberbullied or had their property damanged.
The harassment is very underreported, according to the study, with 62% of students saying they never report it to a school official and 556% saying they never told a family member. Of the students that did report harassment, only 36% said the report resulted in any staff intervention.
The GLSEN report also shows LGBT students are underserved by school resources, with only five percent attending a school with an anti-bullying policy that contains specific protections based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Less than half the schools – 44 percent – have a Gay Straight Alliance (GSA) or similarly supportive extracurricular activity.
