Today is Spirit Day, GLAAD’s annual event to speak out against anti-LGBTQ bullying and stand with LGBTQ youth, who disproportionately face bullying and harassment. Our nation’s leader continues to set an example of a bully in action, making events like Spirit Day—and the actions they can inspire all year long—more critical than ever.
Let’s review (my bold):
- 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.
- 70.1% of LGBTQ students experienced verbal harassment (e.g., called names or threatened) at school based on sexual orientation, 59.1% based on gender expression, and 53.2% based on gender.
- 28.9% of LGBTQ students were physically harassed (e.g., pushed or shoved) in the past year based on sexual orientation, 24.4% based on gender expression, and 22.8% because based on gender.
- 12.4% of LGBTQ students were physically assaulted (e.g., punched, kicked, injured with a weapon) in the past year based on sexual orientation, 11.2% based on gender expression, and 10.0% based on gender.
- A sizable number of LGBTQ students were also bullied or harassed at school based on other characteristics — 26.9% based on religion, 25.6% based on race or ethnicity, and 25.5% based on disability.
- 48.7% of LGBTQ students experienced electronic harassment in the past year, often known as cyberbullying.
- 57.3% of LGBTQ students were sexually harassed in the past year at school.
according to GLSEN’s 2017 National School Climate Survey, just out this week. If that wasn’t worrying enough, students who experience the above often do not have faith in their school staff’s ability to remedy the situation:
- 55.3% of LGBTQ students who were victimized in school did not report the incident to school staff, most commonly because they doubted that effective intervention would occur or feared the situation could become worse if reported.
- 60.4% of the students who did report an incident said that school staff did nothing in response or told the student to ignore it.
After President Trump took office, some noted the “Trump effect”: “the rise of classroom bullying and harassment driven, at least in part, by the antagonistic rhetoric of the presidential campaign.” Add to that the rhetoric of his foreign policy, his interactions with the media, many of his tweets, and the tone at his rallies, where name-calling his opponents is commonplace, and it feels as if a toxic pall has been cast over our nation, putting the stench of bullying into our lungs.
President Trump also continues to support anti-LGBTQ policies, speak at the gatherings of anti-LGBTQ organizations, and support anti-LGBTQ candidates. In sum, this means that LGBTQ youth (and those perceived as such) and the children of LGBTQ parents need our support more than ever. GLSEN has some good resources for those looking to create positive change in their local schools; the Movement Advancement Project offers a map of safe schools laws in every state; and the American Psychological Association has a number of pieces about prevention and response strategies for bullying of many kinds, and my LGBTQ Back-to-School Resources list has links to additional materials, programs, and organizations.
As parents, it is up to us to support our own children if we see them bullied, to raise children so that they don’t bully others, and to speak out (and vote!) against both specific acts of bullying and environments that nurture bullying attitudes. May we support each other and all our children in this endeavor, today and every day.
