Making Schools a Safe Place for LGBTQ Students

RAINBOW CORNER

Schools have been grappling with not just gender sensitivity and sexual orientation but sexuality as well, which is why learning about it and sensitisation should begin early. The conversation about gender and sexuality should first start when they're small, to protect children against sexual exploitation.

School is an institution that inculcates moral values, preliminary knowledge, and ideas within a child's mind. It has a crucial role in structuring a person's mindset and reconstructing the primary which is meant to help reform an individual's perspectives and insights.

Schools can be equated as miniature societies, where children from different cultural and societal backgrounds meet and form an association. A school is a place where individuals primarily establish themselves as a part of a larger community, consisting of various other persons unrelated to them. This idea of identifying oneself as "different" from one another must be carefully scrutinised and the parameters of bringing out such differences should be modified, especially in terms of gender and sexual orientation.

The negative school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth continues to be a serious concern for communities and educators resulting in mirroring and reproducing inequalities through hetero-normativity and binary gender systems that make up larger societal norms.

Teachers hold authoritative positions in classroom settings, a space where they help develop and guide the language and behavior of students. Teachers also engage with students and school staff outside of the classroom to create and enforce norms in shared spaces. Positive relationships with teachers can be protective of LGBT youth

Many times, it is observed that students often use "gay", and "lesbian" as terms to mock others. Sadly, teachers seem to be ignorant regarding these sensitive issues and such ignorance gives the kid an impression that such actions are not offensive.

Kids only learn what they see around them and if they don't see any homophobia around them in school or see acceptance of differences, they'll mirror it in their behavior.

Most teachers or counselors in Indian schools are awkward in even mentioning anything about sexuality or gender, and that should be changed first.

Schools have been grappling with not just gender sensitivity and sexual orientation but sexuality as well, which is why learning about it and sensitisation should begin early. The conversation about gender and sexuality should first start when they're small, to protect children against sexual exploitation.

Across India, students are bullied because of their sexual orientation and gender identity forcing many to drop out. Bullying occurs at educational institutions as there is little awareness among faculty members who are homophobic.

Nearly 70 per cent of the bullied LGBTQ students in India face anxiety and depression and suffer from a loss in studies. More than half of the students (60 per cent) are reportedly facing physical bullying in high and middle schools. In July 2019, Avinshu, a 19-year-old gay boy, committed suicide over homophobia. "Everyone knows I am a boy. But the way I walk, think and talk is like a girl. People in India do not like that," Avinshu posted on Facebook before killing himself. In March 2022, a gay student's suicide in Faridabad reveals that schools are not safe for queer children. In the wake of several shocking instances of child sexual abuse in schools, many have devised programmes to educate children so that they are able to protect themselves and raise an alarm.

Need For Gender Sensitisation

Schools must organise monthly or yearly gender sensitisation workshops for both staff and students. In some instances, the parents of the students should also be invited to such seminars. Moreover, teachers must eliminate improper stigmatisations associated with sexual identities and should stop encouraging any shyness or hesitation while discussing anything analogous to LGBTQ.

They should actively address such issues, counsel them and make them understand why using such foul language is offensive. This helps in gaining the confidence of students who bear homosexual identities or other sexual orientations to come out and believe they are not "different" or "weird" or their choices are not "unnatural".

Gender Inclusion in Curriculum

Studies say that there are great elementary storybooks for children whose lead protagonists are LGBTQ characters; the elementary school curriculum can include them. More LGBTQ teachers must be recruited to share their life experiences with students and influence them to belong to such communities.

Children should be taught about the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. School management must seriously address school bullying and discrimination. India has reached a point where society has truly embraced people of all gender and sexual identities, making the topic of LGBTQ rights kind of a non-issue. The truth is, for many LGBTQ students, discrimination and harassment are still a daily reality, and school is one of the main places where they experience these things.

What Teachers Can Do

Educators can set the tone for how students treat each other since teachers can do a lot to influence the climate in our schools and make sure the classrooms are places where all students feel welcome.

Here are some things you can do to make sure you're nurturing your LGBTQ students in your instruction:

Include a variety of gender representations. Encourage teachers to make sure that classroom books and materials include diverse families and people whose careers and other life roles don't conform to gender stereotypes.

Teachers must group them neutrally. Out of habit, teachers will often divide students into "boy" and "girl" groups. This can make students who don't conform to gender-based stereotypes feel uncomfortable and isolated.

Evaluate your speech and materials for heteronormative and gender-normative bias. Include positive representations of LGBTQ people in your curriculum while sharing facts about LGBTQ history. Let your LGBTQ students know that you are an ally by displaying some visible sign of your support such as hanging a rainbow flag or a Safe Space Poster or Sticker in your classroom.

Respond to anti-LGBTQ behavior. When students experience harassment in your presence, take action. Simply saying something like "That language is unacceptable," is enough to acknowledge the act and stop it. As you make yourself more visible as an ally, students may be more likely to come out to you about their sexual orientation or gender identity. This important and sensitive conversation needs to be handled carefully.

Making sure that your school's anti-bullying and anti-discrimination policies include language specific to sexual orientation and gender identity can also improve your school's climate.

By: Saswati Sarma

Also Read: Why are People Scared of Transgenders?

Also Watch: