An exploratory survey of the experiences of homophobic bullying among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered young people in Ireland

Abstract

While developments have been made concerning the understanding of general bullying behaviour in Irish schools, considerably less is known about homophobic bullying. Presented here are the findings of a study into the views and perspectives of a self-selected sample of 123 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered (LGBT) secondary school-aged young people in Ireland. Findings highlight the extent to which such students experience name calling, teasing and bullying in their everyday lives. While exploratory in nature, the study indicates (i) the LGBT population is one ‘at risk’ of school bullying; (ii) homophobic bullying should be included as a matter of concern in pre-service and in-service teacher training; (iii) that homophobic bullying should be explicitly considered in school anti-bullying policy. Furthermore, from a consideration of the current level of expertise, there are grounds for optimism regarding the development of an inter-agency approach to providing resources and addressing curriculum development in this area in schools in Ireland.