Preventing Harassment towards Students in High School who are Gay,

Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning

By: Han Nee C. Wester

Statistics in studies estimated that more than two million students in USA schools are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender,
questioning (LGBTQ), or perceived to be so (Bochenek & Brown, 2001). Research also revealed that many LGBTQ students had
been harassed or experienced some kind of intolerance at school due to their sexual orientation (Baker, 2002). The impact
harassment has on LGBTQ students were discussed in this article, such as attempted suicide, absence from school, and other
social, health and academic problems. The purposes of this article were to analyze strategies and methods used to prevent
harassment towards LGBTQ students and to evaluate their effectiveness in creating a more positive sexual diversity climate in
schools. Two specific strategies, the Safe Schools Program for Gay and Lesbian Students in Massachusetts and the Project 10 in
California, were examined in detail as models for other schools. The research in this article indicated that systemic changes
proposed by the SSP and Project 10 were effective, such as inclusive school policies; education, both of the faculty and the
students; and GSAs, which provide the members of the school community with prolonged exposure to individuals who may
contradict some students' internally held stereotypes. However, there were also limitations with current research such as lack of
representativeness, and potential selection bias in the schools that participated. Sears, citing the research of Croteau and Kusek
(1992) and Stevenson (1988), noted that relatively little research has been devoted to understanding the long term impact and
effectiveness of specific intervention methods. Possible recommendations and future research include more extensive longitudinal
research to see if school policies implemented through Project 10 and SSP, such as no name calling policy, would change the
attitudes and school climate in the long run.

Keywords: Preventing Harassment, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning (LGBTQ), Gender and Sexuality,
School Policies, Intervention Methods and Strategies
Stream: Gender and Sexuality Presentation Type: 30 minute Paper Presentation in English

Han Nee C. Wester

Faculty Member (HPU) and Doctoral Candidate (USC),
College of Humanities and Social Sciences (HPU),
Hawaii Pacific University and University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, USA
Han Nee C. Wester is a faculty member at the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Hawaii Pacific University. She also
facilitates online undergraduate courses at the University of Phoenix and international business courses at Remington College
Honolulu Campus. She is currently pursuing her doctorate degree in education at the Rossier School of Education, University
of Southern California.

Ref: D11P0019