Stop the shamg that ph gay youth to changg their genr | Natnal Post

Contents:

• ADAM ZIVO: STOP THE SHAMG THAT WRONGLY PH GAY YOUTH TO CHANGG THEIR GENR
• GAY BULLYG, GAY BULLI AND DEALG WH GAY BASHG

ADAM ZIVO: STOP THE SHAMG THAT WRONGLY PH GAY YOUTH TO CHANGG THEIR GENR

High school stunts who self-intify as lbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) report havg been bullied on school property (23%) and cyberbullied (27%) the past year than their straight peers (7% and 13%, rpectively). 29% of transgenr youth have been threatened or jured wh a weapon on school property, pared to 7% of cisgenr youth; transgenr youth were more likely 2019 to have been threatened or jured wh a weapon on school property than reported 201716% of gay and lbian youth and 11% of bisexual youth have been threatened or jured wh a weapon on school property, pared to 7% of straight youth43% of transgenr youth have been bullied on school property, pared to 18% of cisgenr youth; transgenr youth were more likely 2019 to have been bullied on school property than reported 201729% of gay or lbian youth and 31% of bisexual youth have been bullied on school property, pared to 17% of straight youth 29% of transgenr youth have attempted suici, pared to 7% of cisgenr youth 21% of gay and lbian youth and 22% of bisexual youth have attempted suici, pared to 7% of straight youthThe full YRBS rults n be found here.

Gay bullyg statistics dite that 9-out-of-10 gay youth have been subject to bullyg and that, of those, almost half were physilly harassed and a quarter report beg physilly asslted.

Any dividual mor cince of gay bullyg or gay bashg may be somethg that someone n al wh but the ma problem wh is s pervasive and nsistent nature to the pot where jur an dividual's self-teem and sire to live. Over 4000 Gay-Straight Allianc are now registered wh the Gay, Lbian and Straight Edutn Network and iativ such as "No Name-Callg Week" now exist to put the spotlight on all typ of bullyg and bashg.

GAY BULLYG, GAY BULLI AND DEALG WH GAY BASHG

The purpose of this study was to explore the perspectiv of service provirs and youth advot workg wh lbian and gay muni orr to crease unrstandg of bullyg of lbian and gay youth. Dpe acknowledgment that societal attus such as homophobia foster bullyg (Clarke and Kiseli, 1997), the preponrance of bullyg rearch neher addrs nor acknowledg sexual orientatn as a possible factor (Poteat and Espelage, 2005).

Neverthels, vtigatns foced on life experienc of lbian, gay and bisexual youth suggt that up to 84 per cent report verbal harassment (Poteat and Espelage, 2005), a quarter report physil harassment (Elze, 2003; Pilkgton and D'Augelli, 1995), and up to 70 per cent experience problems school due to prejudice and discrimatn based on sexual orientatn (Remafedi, 1987; Saewyc et al., 2007; Telljohann and Price, 1993). Victimizatn of lbian and gay youth has been intified across elementary (Solomon, 2004), high-school (Rob et al., 2002; Thurlow, 2001; Williams et al., 2005) and universy (Janoff, 2005) settgs.

Lbian and gay youth report that tors often did not tervene, even when they wnsed harassment of stunts perceived to be gay or lbian (Elze, 2003; Ryan and Rivers, 2003; Warwich et al., 2001). Non-disclosure of peer victimizatn is likely to be particularly problematic among lbian and gay youth, who often hate to seek support generally om school profsnals (Telljohann and Price, 1993), many of whom harbour tolerant attus toward lbian and gay persons (Fontae, 1998).

Further, sexual mory youth may not seek support om their parents, who may be potentially available, out of fear that seekg support will lead to further victimizatn (Hunter, 1990; Williams et al., 2005) this study, we addrs gaps the lerature on peer victimizatn of youth who are lbian and gay. Given the lack of lerature on bullyg of lbian and gay youth, we explore this phenomenon through the perspectiv of key rmants—most of whom are lbian and gay themselv—who work wh lbian and gay youth.

Selectn creria clud expertise on lbian and gay youth and the cln of men and women occupyg diverse profsnal rol across var the purpose of the study, ‘youth’ was fed as dividuals aged between fifteen and twenty-four years (Statistics Canada, 2006), although bullyg of lbian and gay youth begs well before the age of fifteen and ntu after the age of twenty-four.

Informants provid servic to lbian and gay youth, om age fifteen to twenty-four, var settgs, and occupied diverse rol, cludg: a sendary school teacher and universy-based social worker, youth peer unsellors and advot, and muny-based social service support workers and advot. Qutns foced on the key rmants' views and knowledge regardg bullyg of lbian and gay youth, cludg prevalence, s, perpetrators and effects of bullyg, factors that foster or migate bullyg, and strategi and rourc for lbian and gay youth.

Lbian and gay youth were scribed as victimized ‘kd of everywhere’ by peers and adults, cludg parents, teachers, ach, relig lears, public trans drivers, social support staff and police. The lotns named by rponnts where bullyg of lbian and gay youth occurs clud schools, fai, plac of worship, public spac such as malls, bars, the street and public trans, and, creasgly, cyberspace. Rponnts reported that many bullyg cints occur at school and at youth-oriented activi, such as sports events and teams: ‘In sport, for example, there is a huge culture of beg bullied … homophobic and lbophobic.

Bullyg of lbian and gay youth was also reported to occur settgs that are voted to amelratg lbian and gay youths' victimizatn and are th assumed to be ‘safe’, such as peer-facilated anti-homophobia workshops and wh queer muni. For example, a rponnt mented that ‘our muny is as racist and sexist and homophobic as any other muny and 's a big mistake to jt assume that bee we're all queer, we all unrstand discrimatn and racism and all the other issu'. Instutnal factors tnal settgs that ntributed to bullyg of lbian and gay youth prise aquate trag for tors, social service provirs and other adults workg wh youth, a lack of equy-based polici clive of sexual orientatn and failure to hold staff and stunts acuntable unr existg equy-based polici.

’ Instutnal-level factors emerged as creatg a climate that is eher hostile or supportive, and which strongly fluenc the attus and behavurs of staff, stunts and the experienc of lbian and the other hand, stutnal factors ernment and social policy were intified as migatg lbian and gay bullyg. For example, a rponnt stated that ‘people a small town or a fay om the Middle East would get the stori’, which uld rult dividuals changg their negative views towards lbian and gay persons. This, turn, may ntribute to a more acceptg climate for lbian and gay youth, which bullyg may be ls apt to media were viewed as powerful stutns that shape attus toward lbian and gay youth and both foster as well as migate lbian and gay bullyg.

Tolerance for vlence as perpetuated by the media, as well as ‘pervasive’ heteronormative imag of ‘the perfect fay’, were seen to endorse bullyg, whereas the creasg cln of lbian and gay characters televisn programmg was unrstood as a migatg factor, which has ‘done a lot terms of makg more acceptable for people to vary a ltle b wh sexual orientatn’.

Another observed that ‘'s hard enough to feel different, but to then be terrorized bee of and to have no one to turn to for support’ effects of lbian and gay bullyg reported by rponnts clud ternalized homophobia, substance abe, suici attempts, and homelsns. Rponnts intified ternalized homophobia among victimized youth as a legacy of homophobic bullyg, which they attributed to victimizatn and years of hearg ments, begng elementary school, such as ‘That's so gay’ or ‘You're such a fag’.