A new anti-homophobia education initiative has recently been launched by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in order to tackle discrimination aimed at young LGBT people.
The programme comes after Stonewall, the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity involved in the development of the educational resources, revealed that more than half of LGBT pupils are bullied because of their sexuality.
The pack, containing a DVD and lesson plans for teachers, explores the impact that homophobic and transphobic bullying can have on young people. In addition, it aims to raise awareness of the consequences of homophobic bullying on the perpetrator, including arrest and prosecution.
Included in the DVD are scenarios of homophobic abuse taking place, as well as testimonies from young people who have experienced this type of bullying. Pupils are invited to talk openly about discrimination and offensive language, in order to address prejudice within their school. The students are then put in the position of investigating police officers in order to identify the criminality of homophobic and transphobic abuse.
The National Union of Teachers (NUT) have backed the resource, and General Secretary Christine Blower commented: “For too many young people school life is made extremely challenging and miserable due to prejudice and harassment based on their sexuality - this must stop.”
Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, Nazir Afzal, said of the resource: "We want young people to become more alive to the fact that not only are hate crimes particularly nasty and unpleasant, they are also illegal and committing such offences can have serious consequences.
"We hope that this resource pack will be used to help young people realise the devastating impact that homophobic and transphobic bullying and hate crime can have on victims and their families, as well as making them aware of the need to report abuse and the potential legal consequences for perpetrators.
"Education is the key to this and I hope that the pack will support schools in the work they do to encourage young people to take a stand against bullying and hate crime."
At NCFE we agree that education is vital to challenging discrimination and prejudice in schools and beyond. Our Equality and Diversity qualifications would support the delivery of these lessons, giving learners an introduction into stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination. Young people are able to identify the responsibility each and every person in society has to ensure barriers to participation in society are removed.
Find out more about our Equality and Diversity qualifications.
