Report finds more than 30 per cent of LGBT students in Louisiana heard school staff make homophobic comments
The new study also found that 77 per cent heard negative remarks about transgender people
By Steve Brown
A new report found more than 30 per cent of LGBT+ students in Louisiana have heard school staff making homophobic comments.
The new study by GLSEN – formerly known as the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network – released the state-level data which documented the experiences of LGBT+ children in schools since 1999.
Among those surveyed, around 85 per cent of LGBT+ students in Louisiana reported hearing homophobic remarks from other students on a regular basis.
It also found that around 77 per cent revealed they heard negative remarks about transgender people.
Additionally, around 32 per cent of LGBT+ students have heard school staff make homophobic remarks and more than half heard school staff make negative comments about someone’s gender expression.
Furthermore, nearly 80 per cent said they experience verbal harassment based on their sexual orientation and around 67 per cent faced harassment due to their gender expression.
Around 53 per cent said they never reported these incidents to staff and only 28 per cent had done due to staff intervention, according to the report.
GLSEN executive director Eliza Byard said in a statement: “This research makes clear that many LGBTQ students in Louisiana are facing hostile environments that lack many of the resources that make their schools safe spaces for them to attend.”