supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle Young people and homophobic bullying CHYP IN Network 29 November 2012

supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle Safe Newcastle safe and confident co-ordination group Safe and Confident action plan Priority outcome to promote community confidence, reassurance and engagement Action to increase engagement with children and young people Clear from working group discussions that homophobic bullying presented specific issues around responding to and dealing with instances of bullying

supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle Facts and figures No data on the numbers of LGBT young people in Newcastle, however it is known young LGBT people amongst those most likely to be bullied (Newcastle Children & Young People’s Plan ) Nationally 55% of LGBT young people have experienced direct bullying (School Report, Stonewall) Use of homophobic language is endemic (Stonewall) Three in five gay pupils say teachers who witness bullying never intervene (Stonewall)

supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle Facts and figures 32% of gay pupils change their future education plans because of bullying (Stonewall) Three in five gay pupils say it affects directly their school work (Stonewall) LGBT young people are at a higher risk of suicide, self harm and depression (Stonewall) 41% have attempted or thought of taking their own life (Stonewall)

supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle Durham, Chester-le-Street, Derwentside PCTs Homophobic Bullying Research % LGBT young people had experienced verbal bullying 56% had experienced verbal and physical bullying 71% LGBT young people didn’t seek help Barriers to seeking help included –‘Feeling no one would take it seriously’ –‘Didn’t have the confidence to ask for help’ –‘My teacher said I had problems with my sexuality’

supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle Some of the support and help available in Newcastle MESMAC: Fairer Futures anti-homophobic bullying toolkit, GAP (young gay and bisexual men’s group) Response anti-bullying team: ARCH reporting system The Fed: developed a ‘homophobia – lets tackle it pack’ with Red Card Group West End Women & Girls Centre: Tyneside Young Lesbian Project

Questions What is your organisation’s experience or awareness of homophobic bullying? Where do you see gaps or blockages in the system for reporting homophobic bullying and issues arising from it? Do you have examples of good practice for dealing with bullying? supporting voluntary and community action in Newcastle