The verbal harassment of LGBTQ students at school had been in decline for nearly a decade—but that decline has stalled, and the frequency of verbal harassment based on gender expression has actually increased in recent years, according to a new national survey from GLSEN.
The 2017 National School Climate Survey, released yesterday, shows that between 2015 and 17, the rate of verbal harassment of LGBTQ students plateaued and in some cases, increased, after declining from 2007 to 2015. Although physical harassment and assault based on sexual orientation continued to decline in 2017, GLSEN reports, “We have seen a steady increase in youth reporting negative remarks about transgender people, and a recent upward trend in the frequency of staff making negative remarks about gender expression.”
The survey included 23,001 students between the ages of 13 and 21, with an average age of 15.6 years. They were from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. About two-thirds (67.5%) were White, a third (34.1%) were cisgender female, and 4 in 10 identified as gay or lesbian (41.6%).
Other findings from the report include:
- The vast majority of LGBTQ students (87.3%) experienced harassment or assault based on personal characteristics, including sexual orientation, gender expression, gender, religion, race and ethnicity, and disability. Seven in ten LGBTQ students (70.1%) experienced verbal harassment at school based on sexual orientation, more than half based on gender expression (59.1%) or gender (53.2%).
- The frequency of verbal harassment based on gender expression increased from 2015 to 2017, after years of decline, and there were no improvements in reports of physical harassment and assault based on gender expression from 2015 to 2017.
- Most LGBTQ students (62.2%) reported experiencing LGBTQ-related discriminatory policies or practices at school, such as being disciplined for public displays of affection that were allowed among non-LGBTQ students; prevented from wearing clothes considered “inappropriate” based on their
legal sex; prohibited from discussing or writing about LGBTQ topics in school assignments; restricted from forming or promoting
a GSA (gender-sexuality alliance); prevented from using their preferred name or pronoun, and required to use a bathroom of their legal sex.
The negative impact on students is clear:
- More than a third of LGBTQ students (34.8 %) missed at least one day of school in the last month because of feeling unsafe at school, and at least two in five students avoided bathrooms (42.7%) and locker rooms (40.6%).
- Hostile school climates negatively affect LGBTQ students’ mental health and educational outcomes. LGBTQ students who experienced high levels of anti-LGBTQ victimization were nearly twice as likely to report they do not plan to pursue post-secondary education. Also, LGBTQ students who experienced high levels of anti-LGBTQ victimization and discrimination had lower GPAs, lower self-esteem, and higher levels of depression.
What to do? GLSEN tells us:
- School-based supports continue to have a positive effect on school climate. School staff supportive of LGBTQ students, GSAs, LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum, and comprehensive and supportive policies are all related to safer schools and better educational outcomes. Yet LGBTQ students report that most of these supports are not available to them.
As a 50-something person who came out in college, sometimes I stand back in wonder at the amazing resources and opportunities for young LGBTQ people today. Books! GSAs! Queer prom dates! But for every headline prom date, there are other students in other schools who cannot come out for fear of their safety and well-being.
I’ll note, too, that the impact is not just on students who are actually LGBTQ, but also on those who are perceived to be. And, as GLSEN, Family Equality Council, and COLAGE reported in their 2008 study on LGBT parents and their children in K-12 schools (which I’d love to see updated!), “Students with LGBT parents may also be subjected to and negatively affected by anti-LGBT bias in schools.” Not to mention that all students may feel the negative effects of such bias if LGBTQ lab and project partners, teammates, band mates, cast mates, and friends are struggling under the weight of victimization. And all students can benefit from learning about the full lives and contributions of LGBTQ people to our society and our world.
Prejudice and discrimination harm everyone, even if LGBTQ students and other marginalized students take the brunt of it. We still have work to do.