New research by Just Like Us shows the impact of discrimination and prejudice on LGBTQIA families
BY IONE GILDROY, IMAGE BY DIVERSIFYLENS
New research has found that queer parents face bullying, negative comments and even social exclusion and that many schools are failing to be inclusive.
The research found that more than half of queer parents (56%) have faced negative comments about their families, and 42% of their children have experienced remarks about having LGBTQIA parents.
35% of LGBTQIA parents have been asked invasive and uncomfortable questions, including “strangers asking about my child’s sperm donor.” This figure rose to 39% for lesbian mums.
The new research by LGBT+ young people’s charity Just Like Us also found that half of queer parents were worried that their child will be bullied because of their parents, or that they will “not be accepted.”
A quarter of LGBTQIA parents said that their children have felt hurt or upset by negative comments made at their schools about LGBTQIA people. 25% noted that their children have been left out of social events “seemingly because they are from an LGBT+ family”. Parents also said they have been left out of parent social arrangements, seemingly because they are queer, with 40% of trans parents saying this and a third of lesbian and gay parents agreeing.
A third of trans parents have heard negative comments about trans people at school, and to avoid any anti-LGBTQIA prejudice, 10% of trans parents have decided to homeschool their children. One in five trans parents also reported that schools only have “male” or “female” on registration forms.
This led to a quarter of lesbian and gay parents, and a third of trans parents, to feel isolated, and a quarter of queer parents to feel “depressed or anxious about my LGBT+ family not fitting in or not being treated fairly.”
The research by Just Like Us, released during School Diversity Week, surveyed 1,012 LGBTQIA parents. One in five lesbian, gay and trans parents say they have been treated differently by their child’s school because of their identity.
Amy Ashenden, the Director of Comms and Engagement at Just Like Us, said: “As an LGBT+ parent, compiling this report has been far from reassuring. Some of the findings are harrowing. There is clearly so much work to be done to help schools and nurseries understand the huge impact that an inclusive – or unaccepting – school environment can have on LGBT+ families.”
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