Y Y Transgender and Gender- Nonconformity 101

  9 out of 10 LGBQGV students experience harassment during school   84.6 % of LGBGV students reported being verbally harassed   40.1% reported being physically harassed   18.8% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation For Trans youth 100% experience harassment over 50% reported being physically harassed 25% reported being physically assaulted at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation or gender expression 61% reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and reported avoiding places like school bathrooms and locker rooms Kosciw, Greytak, Diaz, & Bartkiewicz, 2010 Alarming stats for LGBQTGV youth

Relational Bullying   Nine in ten experienced some sort of relational aggression   89% reported being the target of rumors or lies   92% felt deliberately excluded or “left out” by other students Material Bullying 67% reporting their property (e.g., car, clothing, or books) was stolen or deliberately damaged at school Cyber-digital bullying 62% compared to 52% of LGB

  almost half (47%) of transgender students reported skipping a class at least once in the past month   46% reported missing at least one day because they felt threatened   29.1% of LGB students reported missing a class at least once   30.0% LGB missed at least one day of school in the past month because of safety concerns   GPAs of students were lower for those who were more frequently harassed   LGBTGV are two to five times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual students* School-related consequences for both groups

  59% of transgender students heard teachers or other staff make negative comments about a student’s gender expression   33% heard school staff make homophobic, sexist, or otherwise negative remarks about someone’s gender expression   Less than a fifth (16%) of transgender students said that school staff intervened either most of the time or always after witnessing abuse of a student’s gender expression   47% of the time teachers and other school staff did not intervene at all, ever   Among other student identity groups, 60.4% reported hearing homophobic remarks from teachers or other school staff   41.4% of the time teachers and staff did not intervene when witnessing bullying of students based on sexuality or gender presentation. Teachers “Responses”

1996, Lambda Legal, an LGBT legal advocacy group, took the case, Nabozny v. Podlesny to a federal appeals court, which—for the first time in U.S. history—ruled that public schools can be held accountable for ignoring, tolerating, and/or failing to prevent or stop the abuse of homosexuals.* Nabozny v. Podlesny (not to fret)

996% of students who were open about their identities and orientations also enjoyed higher levels of psychological well- being* SO, What can we learn from all of this? What helps LGBTGV students?

Looking Ahead into Bullying Reform Bullying could be extinct if it were… (1). Legislatively bound and if every school in the country had a systems-based anti-bullying program in place; (2). Possible for all schools to implement an anti-bullying curriculum in which students took anti-bullying classes every year during their pre-K-16 preparation; (3). Possible to have a federally appointed official to serve as a "Minister of anti-bullying” who studies and reviews successful models of anti-bullying programs for use in local systems (based on models such as those found in the U.K., and Sweden); (4). Fund anti-bullying programs at the federal level and reward states and schools that show reductions in bullying; and (5). Possible to tie anti-bullying into preventative mental health and health care screenings so that prevention/intervention becomes a standard aspect of our citizenry’s annual check-ups. *

References Kosciw, J., Greytak, E., Diaz, E. & Bartkiewicz, M. (2010). The 2009 national school climate survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation’s schools. New York: GLSEN. Lamda Legal. Retrieved December 15, 2009 from nabozny-v-podlesny.html. Miller, s. (2012). Mythology of the Norm: Disrupting the Culture of Bullying in Schools. English Journal, 101(6), Siebers, T. (2008). Disability theory. Michigan: University of Michigan press. Sue, D.W. (Ed.). (2010). Microaggressions and marginality: Manifestation, dynamics, and impact. Hoboken: Wiley.