Abstract
Portugal is one of the most egalitarian countries in Europe in terms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals’ legal rights. However, regarding education Portugal still lacks specific policies, plans and interventions to protect LGBTI students. To assess the perceptions of self-identified LGBTI youth regarding their school context, a total of 663 participants (aged from 15 to 20 years old) filled in an on-line questionnaire about their school climate. One hundred and forty-six of them answered an open-ended question about their personal experiences. A thematic analysis of these answers was conducted, and four main categories were identified: (i) victimization, (ii) coming out experiences, (iii) support networks, and (iv) demands. Most participants reported experiences of discrimination, and several sources of prejudice were identified. Furthermore, participants also recognized a lack of LGBTI information in school curriculum and made several demands. Besides inclusive laws, we suggest that the safety and the well-being of LGBTI youths in Portuguese schools depend upon others measures, such as teacher and school staff training, curricula inclusive of LGBTI diversity, and local strategies, such as Gay-Straight Alliances.
Highlights
Experiences of LGBT Students in Portugal (Toomey and Russell, 2016; Day et al, 2018), LGBT students have to deal with many tasks and challenges concerning their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, such as absence of positive role models, lack of coping mechanisms to deal with victimization and self-acceptance, loneliness, and coming out (Savin-Williams, 1998)
The National Survey on School Climate conducted in Portugal in 2016/2017 (Pizmony-Levy et al, 2018) revealed that schools are for many LGBTI youngsters an environment of unsafety and discomfort, in which insults and other negative attitudes are frequent
Data were drawn from a larger study with a total of 663 LGBTI students who filled in an online questionnaire about their experiences in school during the last school year
Summary
School is often a hostile environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth (Earnshaw et al, 2016; Kosciw et al, 2016; Pizmony-Levy and Kosciw, 2016; Russell and Fish, 2016; Toomey and Russell, 2016; Day et al, 2018; Pizmony-Levy et al, 2019). The National Survey on School Climate conducted in Portugal in 2016/2017 (Pizmony-Levy et al, 2018) revealed that schools are for many LGBTI youngsters an environment of unsafety and discomfort, in which insults and other negative attitudes are frequent In this regard, 37% of inquired students reported they felt unsafe because of their sexual orientation and 28%. Homophobic and transphobic bullying include teasing, name calling and public ridicule, spreading rumors about one’s sexual orientation or gender identity ( known as outing), intimidation, pushing and hitting, stealing or damaging belongings, social isolation, cyber bullying (harassment through email, cell phones, text messages, defamatory websites, and social media), physical or sexual assault, and death threats (UNESCO, 2012) This type of bullying is often perpetrated by students, but in some cases by teachers and other school staff (UNESCO, 2012). In order to conceptualize interventions that assure the improvement of Portuguese LGBT youths’ living conditions and well-being (Lgbtqi Inclusive Education Report, 2018), it is important to gather information about their school climate, personal experiences, and social resources
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