There is no doubt that homophobic bullying is a problem in Australian schools. The latest Writing Themselves in report published by Gay and Lesbian Health Victoria reports 80% of young gay, lesbian or questioning teens experience gender and sexuality-based bullying in the form of physical and verbal assault while at school.
So how should schools respond to incidents of teasing and bullying related to gender and sexual identity? In an article Challenging homophobic bullying in schools, Daniel Monk draws attention away from therapeutic or disciplinary responses to bullying, arguing we should understand homophobic bullying as part of a broader politics related to childhood and sexuality.
He challenges the idea that an educative response to such bullying is to try and stamp it out by educating young people about why it is wrong. While this approach acknowledges the harms caused by violence, it also silences other experiences of homophobia.
[For more of this story, written by Mary Lou Rasmussen, Fida Sanjakdar, Kathleen Quinlivan And Louisa Allen, go to http://medicalxpress.com/news/...g-wont-bullying.html]
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