Jeff Rey C.

Dalubatan 11 – Einstein

Discrimination on LGBT Students

Schools are everyone’s place of security and safety. But in the Philippines, lesbian,

gay, bisexual, and transgender students find that their schooling experience is scarred

because of bullying, discrimination, and even physical or sexual assault. These forms of

maltreatment can defy the student’s rights to education affecting their quality of education,

physical, mental, and social health (Thoreson, 2017).

Adolescents having same-sex sexual or romantic attractions, or identified as

lesbian, gay, or bisexual are more likely to experience depressive symptoms, suicidal

ideation, and to make suicide attempts than heterosexual adolescents. (Remafedi et al.

1998; Russell and Joyner 2001; Safren and Heimberg 1999). An explanation for the

heightening risk of emotional distress among sexual minority adolescents is that these

youth must deal with stressors related to having a stigmatized identity (Rosario et al.

2002). According to Russell et al. (2010), the victimization of LGBT students ranges from

social interactions in which homophobic discourse is a part of everyday communication,

e.g. the use of ‘‘that’s so gay’’ and ‘‘fag’’ as generalized derogatory comments among

teens to verbal harassment and physical violence. A recent nationwide survey of LGB

youth in the United States reported that nearly 40% experience physical harassment at

least once because of their sexual orientation and 64.3% reported feeling unsafe at their

school because of their sexual orientation (Kosciw, 2004).

Unfortunately, many school districts, administrators, and teachers are

unsupportive of the needs of their lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning students
(Lipkin, 2002). Universities took action in developing policies addressing such

discrimination but the implementation and enforcement of these policies is much opaque

(Ellis, 2008).

Schools have a responsibility to consider the needs of their sexual minority

students (Birkett et al., 2009). Their goal is to bring awareness of the challenges facing

the LGBT community and develop legislation, as well as strict implementation of school

policies, to protect sexual minority students from the violence and discrimination that is

currently widespread throughout the nation.

 References

Birkett, M., Espelage, D. L., & Koenig, B. (2009). LGB and Questioning Students in

Schools: The Moderating Effects of Homophobic Bullying and School Climate on

Negative Outcomes. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 38(7), 989-1000.

doi:10.1007/s10964-008-9389-1

Ellis, S. J. (2008). Diversity and inclusivity at university: A survey of the experiences of

lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) students in the UK. Higher Education,

57(6), 723-739. doi:10.1007/s10734-008-9172-y

Kosciw, J. G. (2004). The 2003 national school climate survey: The school-related

experiences of our nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth. New

York: GLSEN.

Lipkin, A. (2002). The challenge of gay topics in teacher education: Politics, content, and

pedagogy. In R. M. Kissen (Ed.), Getting ready for benjamin. Preparing teachers

for sexual diversity in the classroom. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

Remafedi, G., French, S., Story, M., Resnick, M. D., & Blum, R. (1998). The relationship

between suicide risk and sexual orientation: Results of a population-based study.

American Journal of Public Health, 88(1), 57–60. doi:10.2105/AJPH. 88.1.57

Rosario, M., Schrimshaw, E. W., Hunter, J., & Gwadz, M. (2002). Gay-related stress and

emotional distress among gay, lesbian and bisexual youths: A longitudinal

examination. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(4), 967–975.

doi:10.1037/0022-006X.70.4.967.
Russell, S. T., & Joyner, K. (2001). Adolescent sexual orientation and suicide risk:

Evidence from a national study. American Journal of Public Health, 91(8), 1276–

1281. doi:10.2105/AJPH.91.8.1276

Russell, S. T., Ryan, C., Toomey, R. B., Diaz, R. M., & Sanchez, J. (2010). Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual, and Transgender Adolescent School Victimization: Implications for

Young Adult Health and Adjustment. Journal of School Health, 81(5), 223-230.

doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2011.00583.x

Safren, S. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (1999). Depression, hopelessness, suicidality, and

related factors in sexual minority and heterosexual adolescents. Journal of

Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 67(6), 859–866. doi:10.1037/0022-

006X.67.6.859.

Thoreson, R. (2017, September 11). "Just Let Us Be": Discrimination Against LGBT

Students in the Philippines. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved July 26, 2018, from

https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/06/21/just-let-us-be/discrimination-against-lgbt-

students-philippines