WA groups have called on the Barnett Government for more action against homophobia in high schools after the NSW government recently introduced their ‘Proud schools’ program.
The $250,000 pilot program will tackle homophobic abuse and negative attitudes throughout 12 NSW schools.
Gay and Lesbian Equality (GALE) co-convenor Kitty Hawkins hoped the WA Government would also adopt a program similar to the ‘Proud schools’ model.
‘We hope that this will be a stepping stone towards radically reducing the levels of homophobia within the community, and that the Western Australian Government (as well as those of the other states and territories) will follow NSW’s example,’ Hawkins said.
While there is currently no program specifically addressing homophobia in WA high schools, Cross-Campus Queer Network (CCQN) WA officer Michael Pilkington said he couldn’t see why a gay-straight alliance wouldn’t work in WA high schools.
The Cross-Campus Queer Network is a network of queer collectives in WA universities that provide advocacy and support services for LGBT students.
‘All it really takes is a few dedicated individuals to get the process rolling and then it’s just a matter of talking to people about the group, getting new members in and staying committed,’ Pilkington said.
‘There’s a lot more institutionalised queerphobia, and parents and teachers obviously have a lot more involvement in student’s lives than they would at University.
‘We’ve seen gay-straight Ally groups and queer collectives created at high schools around the globe. It’s just about connecting these groups up and working at it over time.’
In 2010, the Victorian government funded the ‘Safe Schools’ program that was accessed by 22 schools.
The program provided over 600 students, student teachers and school staff with training on challenging homophobia and supporting sexual diversity.
Every high school in Victoria has also received the new resource booklet, ‘Supporting Sexual Diversity in Schools: A guide’.
Safe Schools coordinator Roz Ward said the Victorian program had received ‘so much positive feedback’.
‘It’s great to see that NSW is following the lead of Victoria,’ Roz said.
‘We look forward to working with them and hope that further funding will be provided by the new State Government to support our work after June 2011.
‘Safe Schools Coalition Victoria has received so much positive feedback since we launched. Schools recognise the negative impact that homophobia has on the lives of young people, teachers and school staff.’
WA Education Minister Elizabeth Constable said the Department of Education took all forms of bullying seriously… including bullying associated with homophobia.
“Homophobia is a serious issue in society, and our current multi-faceted approach supports schools in addressing bullying for all students, including those incidents which are related to homophobia,†the education minister said.
The minister added that the Department of Education used research evidence from the Child Health Promotion Research Centre, together with national and international research evidence to select and implement targeted evidence based programs and initiatives for tackling all forms of bullying.
However, Ms Constable did not say whether the Barnett Government would consider implementing a ‘Safe Schools’ program in WA high schools.
Benn Dorrington
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