Our schools are accepting baseless discrimination even while being ordered to comply with non-discrimination policies towards queer youth. Bullying towards the queer community is still prevalent in British Columbian schools, this in spite of the Ministry of Education requiring all school districts to create codes of conduct that enshrine non-discrimination against queer persons. The BC Liberal Government prefers to wash their hands of the issue, claiming that there is ‘no evidence’ that school boards aren’t working to comply with the Ministry order. This is difficult claim to make when fewer than ten of the sixty school districts in British Columbia have complied with the order, and why should they? The Government has shown that it’s not interested in actually doing anything to aid queer youth in the schools; there are no penalties for failing to update the district codes of conduct to reflect the new policy, and the results speak for themselves.
Just in British Columbia, over sixty percent of self identifying queer people admit to facing verbal abuse from their peers because of their sexual orientation, while anywhere between thirty and fifty percent face other forms of harassment at schools. In addition to these startling numbers, over seventy-five percent of queer youth report feeling unsafe in our schools, and shockingly, twenty-five percent admit that they have been physically harassed because of their sexual orientation. Children are in our schools to learn, and they cannot learn when they fear for their safety. This is an issue that is far beyond simple divisive politics, this is about making sure our children, all our children, are able to grow and learn in a safe environment without fear of being attacked because of who they are or who they are perceived to be. This harassment doesn’t come without substantial emotional and physical harm to the children that it is inflicted upon. Queer youth who report harassment are over two hundred and fifty percent more likely to intentionally harm themselves, three hundred percent more likely to seriously consider suicide and are four hundred percent more likely to attempt suicide.
The BC Government has made a good first step, allowing the elective Social Justice 12 course to be taught in BC schools. But this is not an issue that should be elective for students to avoid until their last year of public schooling. Even when we don’t see them in the classrooms, there are queer students all around us in the school system. How do we as a society accept that we are a fair and equal society when we refuse to teach our children that the myriad sexual orientations and gender identifications are not only natural, but are just as ‘good’ and ‘proper’ as heterosexuality? What is equal about celebrating the child with heterosexual parents and then going silent when meeting a student’s two fathers? If this government is truly dedicated to aiding queer students and erasing the pain and suffering they face in our schools, they will enact legislation and policies that not only make queer friendly literature available to all students in an age appropriate manner, but they will make sure that it is not as an elective, but as a requirement to graduation, just like non-discrimination lessons are required for racism and sexism.
It is long past time that we stop ignoring the signs as juvenile teasing and start accepting that homophobia is still a prevalent part of school society. British Columbians pride themselves on how open and accepting we are, so now it is time to start backing up our words with action, and end homophobia in our schools.
Showing posts with label Gay Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gay Rights. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Bullying in schools
http://www.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/all/news/record/2400.html April 9th
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517470,00.html April 22nd
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/08/florida.school.assault/index.html May 8th
Quite a little record we've set for ourselves here. In literally 30 days, we've managed to ignore bullying to the point where one child is raped and two others commit suicide. We've managed to tell ourselves that its not really that bad, that its always some other school district in some other area of the country, that nothing like this ever would happen where we teach, administrate and live. Well, you're wrong. Three times now, the youth victim and his parents demanded that something be done, and three times nothing was done because the bullying was homophobic in nature, and thus no one wanted to be involved in protecting "the fag child". But do you know what the sad part about this was? These children never identified themselves as gay, these were healthy, heterosexual young men with a life of potential waiting for them, and now two o them are dead and one will be changed for life. These people, who are legally bound to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of their child charges, should be sued and fired for their gross neglect. We have seen time and time again that staff and students alike would rather ignore the issue or blame the victim rather than act and potentially save a life.
Its time to take a stand. Starting today, I will be collecting letters to send to every state legislator, congressperson, member of provincial legislator and member of parliament in North America. It is my goal that by shedding light on these disgusting acts, we can rally support and make sure that this never happens to another child again. I'm asking you, the reader of this, and anyone else you know, to please help me by writing a short letter that will be sent to these important people. It can be anything, personal experiences from bullying, your own impassioned pleas, just something, anything, something we can share to show the solidarity of our beliefs that this cannot continue and that the life of a child is the MOST important thing in the world, and must be safeguarded as such.
Thank you all, God bless and when you come home at night and begin to complain about the horrors of your mundane life, think of the people above, and others like them, who no longer have that power.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517470,00.html April 22nd
http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/05/08/florida.school.assault/index.html May 8th
Quite a little record we've set for ourselves here. In literally 30 days, we've managed to ignore bullying to the point where one child is raped and two others commit suicide. We've managed to tell ourselves that its not really that bad, that its always some other school district in some other area of the country, that nothing like this ever would happen where we teach, administrate and live. Well, you're wrong. Three times now, the youth victim and his parents demanded that something be done, and three times nothing was done because the bullying was homophobic in nature, and thus no one wanted to be involved in protecting "the fag child". But do you know what the sad part about this was? These children never identified themselves as gay, these were healthy, heterosexual young men with a life of potential waiting for them, and now two o them are dead and one will be changed for life. These people, who are legally bound to do whatever is necessary to ensure the safety of their child charges, should be sued and fired for their gross neglect. We have seen time and time again that staff and students alike would rather ignore the issue or blame the victim rather than act and potentially save a life.
Its time to take a stand. Starting today, I will be collecting letters to send to every state legislator, congressperson, member of provincial legislator and member of parliament in North America. It is my goal that by shedding light on these disgusting acts, we can rally support and make sure that this never happens to another child again. I'm asking you, the reader of this, and anyone else you know, to please help me by writing a short letter that will be sent to these important people. It can be anything, personal experiences from bullying, your own impassioned pleas, just something, anything, something we can share to show the solidarity of our beliefs that this cannot continue and that the life of a child is the MOST important thing in the world, and must be safeguarded as such.
Thank you all, God bless and when you come home at night and begin to complain about the horrors of your mundane life, think of the people above, and others like them, who no longer have that power.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Blood banks lack blood, sanity
It seems that equality is not yet something that we can all take for a given, at least not when it comes to giving the gift of life.
First off, I am gay. I intend to have sex with my partner, whoever he ends up being. I don't do drugs, I believe in monogamous relationships and refuse to have sex with anyone who may even have a slight risk of being an STI carrier. I will not be allowed to donate either my blood or my organs when I die under the current rules. Why? Heterosexuals far less safe than myself don't even get a temporary deferral, and yet I will have a lifetime ban placed upon donations simply because of who I am and who I will share my bed with.
Statistics from both stats Canada and other sources show that male-male sexual activity only accounts for 35% of all new HIV infections, with heterosexual sexual contact also accounting for 35% and IV drug use approaching 10%. Neither IV drug users nor high-risk heterosexual persons are given lifetime deferrals, yet statistics taken by the very people in control of the blood donation laws show that those two groups present high risks of infection per capita, especially within the IV drug user community.
Its more than just a safety issue, I can understand safety. Its still discriminatory, particularly in light of facts brought to us by the US Center for Disease Control, showing that a staggering FIFTY-ONE percent of new HIV infections were among black people in America. Yet there's no ban on black people donating blood, holy hell would be unleashed if discrimination was enacted as law there. To recap, and this is using stats from the US CDC and not my own writings, it is ok to discriminate against an act (and sadly, a group) that provides 44% of HIV infections, but not one that provides 51% of new infections. There's something inherantly wrong with this, someone explain to me how one minority that constitutes approximately 10% of the population is discriminated against, but a different minority group with the same population size and a LARGER infection rate is allowed to do as it pleases with blood.
As a final statement, I would like to point out that many heterosexual men willingly partake in MSM activities, and that not all MSM people are homosexual. What would the rates of infection be if only homosexual or bisexual men in same-sex relationships were surveyed instead of all men who have MSM? Or do we all think that the MSM heterosexuals are being safe and bringing the infection rates down for that group?
Cited sources: http://www.avert.org/canstatg.htm, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5521a2.htm
First off, I am gay. I intend to have sex with my partner, whoever he ends up being. I don't do drugs, I believe in monogamous relationships and refuse to have sex with anyone who may even have a slight risk of being an STI carrier. I will not be allowed to donate either my blood or my organs when I die under the current rules. Why? Heterosexuals far less safe than myself don't even get a temporary deferral, and yet I will have a lifetime ban placed upon donations simply because of who I am and who I will share my bed with.
Statistics from both stats Canada and other sources show that male-male sexual activity only accounts for 35% of all new HIV infections, with heterosexual sexual contact also accounting for 35% and IV drug use approaching 10%. Neither IV drug users nor high-risk heterosexual persons are given lifetime deferrals, yet statistics taken by the very people in control of the blood donation laws show that those two groups present high risks of infection per capita, especially within the IV drug user community.
Its more than just a safety issue, I can understand safety. Its still discriminatory, particularly in light of facts brought to us by the US Center for Disease Control, showing that a staggering FIFTY-ONE percent of new HIV infections were among black people in America. Yet there's no ban on black people donating blood, holy hell would be unleashed if discrimination was enacted as law there. To recap, and this is using stats from the US CDC and not my own writings, it is ok to discriminate against an act (and sadly, a group) that provides 44% of HIV infections, but not one that provides 51% of new infections. There's something inherantly wrong with this, someone explain to me how one minority that constitutes approximately 10% of the population is discriminated against, but a different minority group with the same population size and a LARGER infection rate is allowed to do as it pleases with blood.
As a final statement, I would like to point out that many heterosexual men willingly partake in MSM activities, and that not all MSM people are homosexual. What would the rates of infection be if only homosexual or bisexual men in same-sex relationships were surveyed instead of all men who have MSM? Or do we all think that the MSM heterosexuals are being safe and bringing the infection rates down for that group?
Cited sources: http://www.avert.org/canstatg.htm, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5521a2.htm
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