SEVEN in 10 teachers are aware of verbal homophobic bullying in their schools and colleges, but lack the training to deal with it, a new survey shows.The findings from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers Cymru, follows a report from Stonewall Cymru last week showing that two thirds of gay and lesbian pupils in schools in Wales have experienced homophobic bullying.
Stonewall’s survey is the largest survey of its kind ever undertaken of young gay people in Wales.
It called for better training for teachers on how to tackle the problem, saying half of all teachers failed to respond when they heard homophobic language in school.
The ATL survey backs this up.
It shows that just 2% of teachers in Wales are aware of training to handle homophobia in their schools and colleges.
And although 38% said their workplace would be very accepting of an openly gay colleague, 4% said it would not be accepted.
The survey also found:
*The use of the word gay and the idea of someone being homosexual is often used by pupils to bully others;
*Pupils with gay or lesbian parents are often bullied;
*Homophobic bullying is evident at primary school level;
*11% of members surveyed were aware of physical homophobic bullying taking place at their school/college;
* 98% of members have not been offered or were not aware of training on dealing with issues of homophobia at their school/college;
*2% of members surveyed had received training on dealing with issues of homophobia at their school/ college but said that very few staff took it seriously;
Some members surveyed said the lack of availability of such training was due to their school/college being a faith school;
*96% of members surveyed did not have or were not aware of a specific anti-homophobic bullying policy at their school or college.
Teachers told researchers that “gay” is used as a slur among pupils and often used to bully others.
Gay bullying is evident at primary level although training to tackle it is seen as irrelevant, they said.
Teachers at faith and primary schools appeared to be especially unconcerned.
One told the survey, “I doubt training would be offered to staff at my college as it is a Catholic college.”
Another said, “Training for staff is not offered as I work in a primary school.”
Others felt training would make no difference and that more monitoring and action on the ground by staff and head teachers would make the biggest difference.
One teacher said, “Management are very accepting.
“However, other staff are rude and gossip about colleagues suspected to be gay and follow this through with bullying tactics.
“I have seen this happen to gay and a transgender member of staff in my school.”
Another said, “I do not feel that I could be openly gay as I work in a faith school.
“Despite being of the same faith, I am aware that my future progression would be jeopardised if I were to be open about my sexuality and have no doubt that I would not be equally assessed for promotion which upsets me deeply.”
One teacher in a college of further education said, “I was told by my line manager that I was ‘damaged’ because I am gay and that I would never find happiness.”
A secondary school teacher said, “I had been subject to harassment from students constantly asking me questions about my sexuality and my marital status – this is very draining emotionally.
“When I refused to answer a question, that was always seen as either an affirmation or else was cause for yet more questioning.
“I observed other staff being subject to similar questioning who would respond ‘I am definitely not gay’.
“The implicit statement was that being asked if they were gay was some kind of insult.”
A primary school teacher said, “Recently, when discussing an ex-pupil who ‘came out’ in his twenties, a colleague of mine, with whom I have worked for 15 years, said, ‘I blame his mother’.
“She didn’t think she had said anything wrong."
“She couldn’t see that what she had said was nonsense (being gay isn’t a choice), that it made homosexuality seem wrong – and why blame someone?”
ATL spokesman Dr Philip Dixon said homophobia was the “last taboo”.
Schools are beginning to tackle racism as something totally unacceptable, but homophobia was still endemic, he said.
Until this was dealt with, bullying would continue to be a problem, he warned.
Stonewall Cymru says that it estimates around 6% of the population is lesbian or gay.
This means that every school throughout the UK and beyond will include gay and lesbian teachers and pupils, said Stonewall Cymru spokesman Matthew Batten.
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