SOCIETY OF RADIOGRAPHERS TAKES ANTI-HOMOPHOBIC BULLYING CAMPAIGN TO TUC

The Society of Radiographers will put forward a motion at next month’s TUC Congress to call for the TUC to work with campaigning organisations to tackle homophobic bullying in schools and encourage education authorities to take action to eradicate the problem.

The issue was raised earlier this year, when a motion was passed at the Society’s Annual Delegates’ Conference calling for the union to support the Stonewall Education For All programme.

SoR Member David Finn explains: “Homophobic bullying is directly experience by 65% of the lesbian-gay-bisexual young people in our schools. Forty-one per cent experience physical abuse, like kicking, punching and thrown objects.

“Our schools are supposed to be places of safety but it is clear that children are facing these attacks daily, in the very place where they should feel secure.”

Stonewall is a charity which raises awareness of issues affecting the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities. Its Education For All programme provides support and guidance to local authorities in tackling homophobic bullying in schools.

Stonewall carried out a study to assess the extent of the issue. The results showed that less than a quarter of schools address homophobic bullying in their anti-bullying strategies and the problem is largely unnoticed due to the victims’ reluctance to report incidences of bullying.

Encouragingly, the study shows that change is not difficult and gay pupils are 60% less likely to be bullied if their school explicitly states that it will not tolerate homophobic bullying.