Teachers tackling homophobic abuse

Reporter: KAREN DOHERTY
Date online: 25 June 2009

OLDHAM has held a groundbreaking conference in the fight against homophobia.

Around 45 teachers from schools and colleges across the borough attended the event organised by the National Union of Teachers (NUT) and Oldham Council.

They took part in workshops which gave practical advice on tackling the issue after a shocking survey found that 85 per cent of teachers had regularly witnessed homophobic abuse in Oldham’s secondary schools.

The 2008 NUT poll also revealed that 65 per cent of teachers had seen a pupil regularly singled out for abuse or bullying, while 56 per cent of teachers had themselves been victims.

And just under half of teachers felt confident about addressing homophobia in the classroom, but said more training was needed.

Yesterday’s Challenging Homophobia in Schools Conference is among the first of its kind and will be rolled out across the North-West by the NUT.

Gill Goodswen, the union’s national vice-president, opened the event and said: “It is very important we start to tackle homophobic bullying. We are not tackling it at the moment.

“It rests with us to make sure there is not another generation of young people who have to deal with the level of homophobic abuse that goes on in our schools.”

Jeff Evans, Oldham NUT’s equality officer, said homophobic abuse must be treated as seriously as racist abuse. He explained that teachers wanted practical help rather than theories to tackle the problem, and praised the council’s response.

“The theory is nice but how do you deal with it? 80 per cent of Oldham teachers said this is a serious issue that needs dealing with now, and 75 per cent said they wanted whole-school, practical training for all staff,” he said.

“That’s a wonderful message for Oldham — bigotry and ignorance have no place in our schools and we have to address it. That’s excellent and it is what we would expect, and what parents would expect, from our teachers.

“We are trying to get away from the blame game which helps no one, it alienates people, and concentrate on support and professional training so we do protect children and staff in our schools.”

Young people themselves also described the effects that homophobic bullying has had on their lives.

Vonn Coombe, from Lesbian and Gay Youth Manchester and the Queer Youth Network, told delegates how the verbal and physical abuse she suffered at school was ignored by teachers.

She believes she would have achieved better GCSEs with support and explained: “From Year 8 up to Year 10, I felt I had no one. I did not tell anyone and basically I just suffered in silence.

“Schools need to improve their training. They need specific training for the needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people.”

Councillor Kay Knox, Oldham’s cabinet member for children, young people and families, added: “We have all got one aim that drives us and that is every child matters.

“I know that is government mantra, and sometimes we get fed up of mantras and slogans, but it’s more than that.

“This is only one part of that but it has been a forgotten part.”