So if you want to join in, go ahead, I'm headed to school early to help with posters. Remain silent all day or just most of it to mimic their silence against abuse for sexual orientation.Four out of five lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students report experiencing verbal, physical or sexual harassment in school. GLSEN envisions a future in which every child learns to accept and respect all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.
NEW YORK, Oct. 8, 2008 – GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, today released the most comprehensive report ever on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students, the 2007 National School Climate Survey. The report is being released in conjunction with the announcement that GLSEN will partner with the Ad Council on a multiyear national public education campaign targeting anti-LGBT language among teenagers.
The survey of 6,209 middle and high school students found that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (86.2%) experienced harassment at school in the past year, three-fifths (60.8%) felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and about a third (32.7%) skipped a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe.
“The 2007 National School Climate Survey reveals that, on a whole, the situation is still dire for
many LGBT youth when it comes to school safety,†GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings said. “It’s hard to believe that anyone who reads this report could continue to turn the other way as our nation’s LGBT students are bullied and harassed at alarming rates. The good news is there’s hope. The 2007 National School Climate Survey also shows that when schools and educators take action, they can make a drastic difference.â€
Key Findings of the 2007 National School Climate Survey include:
A Hostile School Climate and the Effects on Academic Achievement:
# 86.2% of LGBT students reported being verbally harassed, 44.1% reported being physically harassed and 22.1% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation.
# 73.6% heard derogatory remarks such as “faggot†or “dyke†frequently or often at school.
# More than half (60.8%) of students reported that they felt unsafe in school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third (38.4%) felt unsafe because of their gender expression.
# 31.7% of LGBT students missed a class and 32.7% missed a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe, compared to only 5.5% and 4.5%, respectively, of a national sample of secondary school students.
# The reported grade point average of students who were more frequently harassed because of their sexual orientation or gender expression was almost half a grade lower than for students who were less often harassed (2.8 versus 2.4).
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