US report into bullying of children of LGB parents
Current estimates indicate there are more than seven million LGBT parents with school-age children in the United States.
A new report called: Involved, Invisible, Ignored: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Parents and Their Children in Our Nation’s K-12 Schools, examines and highlights the school experiences of LGBT-headed families - using results from surveys of LGBT parents of children in K-12 schools and of secondary students who have LGBT parents.
It’s the first comprehensive report on the educational experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families.
One major conclusion found that LGBT parents are more likely to be involved in their children’s K-12 education than the general parent population. The details showed that we are more involved in school activities and more likely to practice consistent communication with school personnel.
The research was released by GLSEN, (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) - in partnership with the Family Equality Council and COLAGE (Children of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere).
Among the key findings:
- Nearly a quarter of students felt unsafe around other students at school due to others’ negative attitudes toward people with LGBT parents.
- 42% of students said they had been verbally harassed at school in the past year because their parents were LGBT.
- More than half of parents described various forms of exclusion from their school communities: being excluded or prevented from fully participating in school activities and events, being excluded by school policies and procedures, and being ignored and feeling invisible.
- Parents whose child’s school had a comprehensive safe school policy that protected students from bullying and harassment based on actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression/identity reported the lowest level of mistreatment and that there were no differences between the no-policy and generic-policy groups.
“I want my sons’ school environment to give them the opportunity to learn without harassment, and I want to be a welcomed and integral part of their educational experience as they grow,” said Jennifer Chrisler, executive director of the Family Equality Council. “This report shows when schools have anti-bullying policies that are inclusive of sexual orientation and gender identity, the rates of harassment are lowered dramatically. These policies and comprehensive diversity curricula are tools that can curb mistreatment and bolster participation from all families. Knowing what works is a start, but schools have a long way to go and much left to do in putting them to the best and fullest use for our kids.”
