Homophobic and transphobic violence in education

UNESCO recognises that no country can achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 - to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all - if students are discriminated against or experience violence because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity.

UNESCO’s objectives in supporting education sector responses to homophobic and transphobic violence are to:

• collect solid evidence on the nature, scope and impact of homophobic and transphobic violence in educational settings, particularly in regions and countries where there is little or no data available;
• document and share best practice for action;
• raise awareness and build coalitions at national, regional and global level, and;
• facilitate action in selected countries to prevent and address homophobic and transphobic violence in educational settings.

Violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression is often directed at lesbian, gay and bisexual students (homophobia) and transgender students (transphobia), and others whose gender expression does not fit into binary gender norms, such as boys perceived as effeminate and girls perceived as masculine. As such, it is a form of gender-based violence.

It includes physical, sexual and psychological violence and bullying. A student is bullied when exposed repeatedly over time to aggressive behaviour that intentionally inflicts injury or discomfort through physical contact, verbal attacks, fighting or psychological manipulation.

UNESCO’s Actions  

In May 2016, UNESCO brought world leaders together for the #OutInTheOpen International Ministerial Meeting: Education Sector Responses to Homophobic and Transphobic Violence. A group of countries affirmed a Call for Action by Ministers for an inclusive and equitable education for all learners in an environment free from discrimination and violence, including discrimination and violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Since then 56 countries have supported the Call for Action by Ministers and the deadline for countries to express their support remains open.

The event featured the UNESCO launch of the first UN Global Report on violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. Using the conceptual framework of the report, the Council of Europe, in partnership with UNESCO, developed a publication focused on the European region, Safe at school: Education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or sex characteristics in Europe.

UNESCO supported a global web-based consultation conducted by the youth organization MAG Jeunes LGBT in 2018, on how to make the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda for education and health more inclusive of young LGBTI people. The inputs of more than 20.000 LGBTI youth were presented during the second conference of the Equal Rights Coalition (ERC) in Canada

In 2011 UNESCO convened the first-ever UN international consultation on homophobic bullying in educational institutions. The findings were presented in the publication Good Policy and Practice in HIV and Health Education – Booklet 8: Education Sector Responses to Homophobic Bullying (Chinese, English, French, Italian, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish), launched in Paris on the International Day Against Homophobia/Transphobia (IDAHOT) 2012. On the same day, UNESCO and the IDAHOT Committee published a  lesson plan for teachers and educators (French, German, Chinese and locally adapted in Lesson Plans for teaching about sexual and gender diversity for Thailand).

Through a three-year programme launched in November 2013 and supported by the Government of the Netherlands called EDUCATION AND RESPECT FOR ALL: Preventing and Addressing Homophobic and Transphobic Bullying in Educational Institutions, UNESCO supported regional and country-led activities in Asia-Pacific, Southern Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean, including:

Improving the evidence base and documenting best practice

• 2019 publication of a technical brief on monitoring school violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression in national and international surveys, Bringing it out in the open.
• Release of the Out In the Open report (summary in English, French and Spanish) on education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression provides the first overview of data on the nature, scope and impact of the violence, and looks at current actions to address it.
• In partnership with the Council of Europe, release of Safe at school: Education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity/expression or sex characteristics in Europe, which aims to enrich the evidence base for education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression in the European region.  
• Launch of a comprehensive review into bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity or expression in Bangkok, Thailand, 2015, “From Insult to Inclusion: Asia-Pacific report on Bullying, Violence and Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, (Infographic English).
• Completion of a study on gender, diversity and violence in schools in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland, the first of its kind in most of these countries to include questions on violence targeting students who are perceived as gender non-conforming.
• Publication, in collaboration with Plan International, of a study on Bullying Targeting Secondary School Students who are or are Perceived to be Transgender or Same-Sex Attracted in Thailand.
• Publication of a study, “Reaching out: Preventing and addressing school-related gender-based violence in Viet Nam” (Volume 1 & Volume 2) in 2016, by the Ministry of Education and Training of Viet Nam with support from UNESCO and UNGEI.

Raising awareness and building coalitions

• Seminar at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris on LGBT children and young people’s right to education, on the occasion of Human Rights Day 2014 and the 25th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
• Regional consultations on education sector responses to violence based on sexual orientation and gender expression/identity in educational institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, and in Asia-Pacific in June 2015.
• Launch of the School Rainbow campaign, with more than 2,000 students chalking rainbows around school gates in Bangkok, Thailand, in a sign of support for sexual/gender diversity.
• Launch of the Be Myself social media campaign in China on the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia 2015, encouraging young people to be their true selves, to respect differences and be kind to each other. 
• As part of the 2015 UNESCO/UNDP initiative Being LGBT in Asia, the #PurpleMySchool social media campaign was launched, promoting safe spaces for LGBTI students in schools.
• UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, becomes one of 12 heads of UN entities to endorse an historic statement on 29 September 2015 calling on States to act urgently to end violence and discrimination against LGBTI adults, adolescents and children.

Supporting the implementation of country-level activities addressing violence based on sexual orientation and gender expression/identity in education

• Support in China for a strategy workshop and training of trainers in May 2013 to promote LGBT education. The Gay and Lesbian Campus Association of China (GLCAC) released a ground-breaking report  report on university textbooksin October 2014, entitled “Homosexuality Contents in University Textbooks”.
• As a result of a regional meeting in Bangkok in June 2015, Technical Working Groups involving China, Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand are formed, comprising representatives from government, civil society organizations, and academia.
• UNESCO supported the Mexican NGO, Demysex, to develop a manual to raise the awareness of teachers about issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity, homophobia and transphobia.