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Homophobic bullying in secondary schools in England and Wales ‐ teachers’ experiences

Nicola Douglas (Nicola Douglas is a Research Officer at the Health and Education Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK)
Ian Warwick (Ian Warwick, Associate Director at the Health and Education Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK)
Geoff Whitty (Geoff Whitty, Associate Director at the Health and Education Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK)
Peter Aggleton (Peter Aggleton, Associate Director at the Health and Education Research Unit at the Institute of Education, University of London, London, UK)
Sophie Kemp (Sophie Kemp is a Research Student on placement at Stonewall from the Faculty of Environmental and Social Studies, University of North London, London, UK)

Health Education

ISSN: 0965-4283

Article publication date: 1 April 1999

2645

Abstract

This paper describes findings from recent research in the UK on one particular type of bullying, that linked to sexuality and the assumed sexual orientation of the victim ‐ namely homophobic bullying. A survey involving 307 secondary schools throughout England and Wales showed that awareness of general bullying among school staff was almost universal. Most respondents also knew of homophobic verbal bullying, and over one in four were aware of homophobic physical bullying. Existing school policies on bullying and confidentiality rarely referred to lesbian and gay issues. Respondents identified barriers to tackling homophobic bullying, but most thought schools were appropriately placed to provide information on lesbian and gay issues. Study recommendations include: modernising national policy, supporting local teachers and policy‐making in schools through training, new initiatives in citizenship education, and encouraging schools to build collaborative relationships with other local community agencies.

Keywords

Citation

Douglas, N., Warwick, I., Whitty, G., Aggleton, P. and Kemp, S. (1999), "Homophobic bullying in secondary schools in England and Wales ‐ teachers’ experiences", Health Education, Vol. 99 No. 2, pp. 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1108/09654289910256914

Publisher

:

MCB UP Ltd

Copyright © 1999, MCB UP Limited

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