Homophobia in schools remains major problem

Nine in ten LGBT teens have been verbally harassed in the past school year, and almost half have been physically harassed because of their sexual orientation a new study shows. In addition, about a third skipped a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's National School Climate Survey involved 6,209 LGBT students between the ages of 13 and 21 from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. GLSEN has conducted the survey biennially since 1999 and is the only national survey to document the experiences of students who identify as LGBT in America's secondary schools. The new survey found that three-quarters of LGBT teens hear slurs such as "faggot" or "dyke" frequently or often at school, and nine in 10 reports hearing anti-LGBT language frequently or often. Homophobic remarks such as "that's so gay" are the most commonly heard type of biased remarks at school. Research shows that these slurs are often unintentional and are a part of teens' vernacular. Most do not recognize the consequences, but the casual use of this language often carries over into more overt harassment. "The 2007 National School Climate Survey reveals that, on a whole, the situation is still dire for many LGBT youth when it comes to school safety," GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings said. "It's hard to believe that anyone who reads this report could continue to turn the other way as our nation's LGBT students are bullied and harassed at alarming rates. The good news is there's hope. The 2007 National School Climate Survey also shows that when schools and educators take action, they can make a drastic difference." Students in schools with a Gay-Straight Alliance reported hearing fewer homophobic remarks, experienced less harassment and assault because of their sexual orientation and gender expression, the study found. In addition, these students were more likely to report incidents of harassment and assault to school staff, were less likely to feel unsafe because of their sexual orientation or gender expression, were less likely to miss school because of safety concerns and reported a greater sense of belonging to their school community. Nevertheless, the study found only about a third of students had a Gay-Straight Alliance at school. The same number of students could identify six or more supportive educators and only a fifth attended a school that had a comprehensive safe school policy. The survey was released in advance of National Coming Out Day on October 11, and Ally Week which begins on October 13. GLSEN on Friday will launch the first national multimedia public service advertising campaign designed to address the use of anti-gay language among teens. It was undertaken with the Advertising Council and produced pro bono by ad agency ArnoldNYC. The campaign includes television, radio, print, outdoor and Web advertising. The TV ads feature scenarios in which the term "that's so gay" is used casually in an effort to help teens recognize that their anti-LGBT language is harmful. The ads conclude with comedian Wanda Sykes in one TV spot, and actress Hilary Duff in another, urging teens to "knock it off." GLSEN said the campaign hopes to motivate teens to become allies in the efforts to raise awareness, stop using anti-LGBT language, and safely intervene when they are present and anti-LGBT harassment and behavior occurs. "Every student has a right to feel safe in school free from bullying and harassment," said Jennings. "When students do not feel safe, they struggle to learn. This campaign will help educate young people about the harmful language many of them commonly use." The new ads are being distributed to approximately 33,000 media stations nationwide this week. Under the Ad Council's donated media model, all of the new ads will air and run in advertising time and space donated by the media. Media companies, including MTV (which through its Logo channel owns 365gay.com), have made early commitments to support the campaign.