A plan to to challenge young children’s ideas about gender through play at schools in northern Italy – including with a memory game that contains images of male homemakers and female plumbers – has created a storm of protest, with some politicians saying the effort will confuse children about their sexual identity.
The programme – titled Game of Respect – is aimed at children aged three to six in 45 schools in the Trieste region and involves educating teachers about how to use games and role-playing to teach gender equality. Read More
Turkey: Council of State rules firings of gay teacher against the law
The Council of State has ruled that the dismissal of a teacher who has homosexual relations in their private life to be against the law. The Council of State has pointed to the lack of evidence, indication or witnesses to show that the plaintiff reflected homosexual tendencies in the school or engaged in such relations with students outside of the school. Read More
UK: One quarter of homeless youths are LGBTI, says study
The research, carried out by The Albert Kennedy Trust (AKT), aimed to explore the experiences of homeless youths – aged 16-25 – who identify as LGBTI living in the UK. The survey discovered that LGBTI youths, who are more likely to find themselves homeless than their non-LGBTI peers, currently make up 24% of the homeless youth population in the UK.
An overwhelming 69% of them were forced out of their familial homes after experiencing rejection at the hands of their parents on the grounds of their sexuality. Other driving forces behind their LGBTI youth homelessness include mental, emotional or sexual abuse from a family member (69%), and aggression or physical violence within the familial home (62%). Read More
US: LGBTQ youth driven to ‘survival sex’ by homelessness and discrimination, study shows
LGBTQ youth living on the streets or struggling to find a job often turn to sex to make ends meet, according to a new study by the Urban Institute. LGBTQ youth face unique difficulties that drive them to the streets, including family abuse and a lack of access to health care or counseling, the study showed.
LGBTQ youth are estimated to make up between 20 to 40 percent of the homeless youth population, but only 5 to 7 percent of the total young population in the United States.
“I don’t remember it that vividly, all I know is that I was starving,” said one 21-yr-old male identified as black and gay. “I was hungry, I was cold, so I did it.” Read More
South Africa: Owners of gay 'cure' camp found guilty of killing teen
In 2013, 15-year-old Raymond Buys died after he was kept chained to his bed, beaten with planks and hoses at a training camp that boasted of "making men" out of its young recruits. In in 2007, 25-year-old Erich Calitz died from severe brain injuries and 19-year-old Nicholas van der Walt died at the same training camp.
Now “death camp” commander Alex de Koker's “pathetic” and “absurd” testimony has seen him branded a murderer. Read More
Canada: Ontario's New Sex-Ed Curriculum Triggers Heated Debate
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne strongly defended the province's revised sex-education curriculum Tuesday as she faced Opposition criticism that was branded as "homophobic."
Wynne, who is openly gay, took issue with a comment from Progressive Conservative Monte McNaughton, who has frequently criticized the premier's "sex-ed agenda." Read More
Japan requires schools to help gay students
The Japanese education ministry has issued a document to schools and the education board requiring educational institutions give attention and support to LGBTI students.
Local media reports that LGBTI students are often abused and bullied on Japanese campuses, while experts and scholars are recommending schools carry out effective responses earlier to prevent suicide. Read More
'McTucky Fried High,' LGBT Web Series, Explores Queer Teen Issues
An animated web series launched this week that explores issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) teens in an unconventional way.
"McTucky Fried High" is the brainchild of filmmaker, illustrator and activist Robert-Carnilius and tackles a range of issues relevant to queer youth. Slated for a five-episode run, the web series will hit topics such as coming out, extreme diets, being genderqueer, bullying and sexting -- all through the use of animated food as characters. Read More
Chinese short film appealing to parents to accept their gay children goes viral
Ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays next week, PFLAG China has launched a short film to promote family reunions between parents and their gay children. The touching short film, which tells the story of a young gay man who became estranged from his parents after coming out, and eventually being accepted by them years later, has gone viral with over 100 million views. Read More
Predicting LGBT-Affirming Behavior in Teens
To counter homophobic behavior in schools, research is needed on heterosexual youth who act as allies to LGBT youth by engaging in LGBT-affirming behavior. This study found that critical thinking, self-reflection, lower sexual prejudice, having more LGBT friends, and having sexual orientation-based discussions with peers were associated with engaging in more LGBT-affirming behavior. Having LGBT friends was more strongly associated with affirming behavior for youth who felt more connected and had more sexual orientation-based discussions with these friends. Read More
Ireland: Government launches push to tackle homophobia in primary schools
The Irish government has launched its first resource to help primary school teachers tackle homophobic bullying. The guide, titled Respect, will be officially launched by Education minister Jan O’Sullivan this evening.
It was created by the Department of Education and Skills, alongside the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation and Ireland’s Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN). The resource – which is the first of its kind on the Republic of Ireland – encourages teachers to challenge children to think about family, love and gender from an early age. Read More
Australia: 17 year old given power over his parents for gender dysphoria
A 17-year-old transgender boy has become the first child in Australia to have been given the right to make decisions on special medical procedures without parental consent.
The Family Court found that the boy, known as Isaac, was competent and gave him the power to override his parent's wishes to prevent him from using puberty suppressants, testosterone replacement therapy and undergoing any surgery related to his gender. The case potentially paves the way for other children seeking treatment without the support of one or both of their parents to ask the courts to declare them competent enough to make the decision themselves. Read More