Sunday, May 11, 2008

The Telegram: Egale Canada survey shows LGBTQ students don’t feel safe at school

Over two-thirds of Canadian students who identify themselves as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, two-spirited, queer or questioning (LGBTQ) said they felt unsafe school, according to a nationwide survey conducted by Egale Canada.

Helen Kennedy, executive director of Egale Canada, is in St. John’s to discuss the findings of the survey with senior representatives of the provincial Ministry of Education. She said provincial governments need to take steps to make sure these numbers go down.“We may have human rights for LGBTQ people in Canada, but you’d never know it based on these results,” Kennedy said.

The national survey on homophobia and transphobia in Canadian schools had 1,200 participants from all over the country. It found that almost half of LGBTQ students had heard mean rumours about themselves at school. Over a quarter of those students have been physically harassed, while 41 per cent have been sexually harassed.
The Telegram

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