Blog 4

  In a shocking report written by the LGBT Youth Scotland Charity, nearly 70% of all LGBT youths in Scotland experience homophobic bullying, and are being driven out of schools, colleges and universities because of it. The survey showed that 14.3% of all LGBT youth have quit school as a result of bullying. Transphobic bullying is even worse, with the number of students who have dropped out or quit at a shocking 42.3%

  The report, The life in Scotland for LGBT Young People: Education Report is the biggest of its kind to date, finding that education is where most LGBT youth find the most discrimination. 

  Many of the youth interviewed said things such as this:

  "I faced discrimination during my entire school career. It no longer exists in higher education, but I feel like people treat [me] as a bit of a joke. 'The token gay guy' and don't take me very seriously"

  The study showed that transgender students have it even worse, 76.9% of students had been bullied in school, 69.2% in college, and 37.5% at university.  As one girl told the organization: "I am a female who has dressed like a boy/tomboy my whole life. In both primary and secondary school I was asked 'Are you a boy or a girl?' daily as a method of bullying until I left."

The full article, which can be read here, is rather shocking. I find that this is very similar to my own school experiences. As my grandparents often told me: "Children can be cruel." As you can see, the percentages of GLBT students who are bullied lowers as they get older. This is a prime example of how we need stronger, more diverse curriculum in schools, both for the teacher and the students.