Sat 2 Apr 2011 In: New Zealand Daily News View at Wayback View at NDHA
Rainbow Wellington is expressing scepticism about Prime Minister John Key's expressions of concern about bullying in schools, saying he appears to be "all spin and no delivery". The Prime Minister responded to a surge in concern and publicity about bullying in schools by saying that schools have to do everything possible to combat it. He said Education Minister Anne Tolley would write to Boards of Trustees and remind them they were legally required to deliver a safe environment. Rainbow Wellington Chair Tony Simpson says the group wonders how genuine this concern is, in light of its recent experiences. "We wrote to Mr Key last December, raising with him a number of issues of concern to us. Prominent among these was the question of homophobic bullying in schools, a subject on which we had already had an unsatisfactory correspondence with the Minister of Education." Simpson says homophobic bullying is a serious problem which has been the subject of comprehensive research in this and other countries. He says about a third of gay and lesbian teenagers interviewed in New Zealand say that they do not feel safe at school, and that it is not a good place to come out. Simpson adds it has also been the subject of public debate in the United States where a number of high profile figures up to and including both Hilary Clinton and President Obama have taken a strong public position in support of the victims of such bullying. "We appreciate that Mr Key has other issues on his mind, and when he failed to acknowledge our approach we reminded him politely of our concerns. We are still awaiting a reply," Simpson says, adding that Rainbow Wellington continually encounters anecdotal evidence of young people being bullied and attacked simply because they are gay. He cites the case of a 15-year-old gay teenager who had to leap out of the path of a car which was deliberately driven towards him, as its occupants shouted homophobic abuse. "I know of no reaction to this by government Ministers," Simpson says. "But when a case surfaces of one girl beating up another Mr Key is all concern and calling for a ‘national conversation' on the matter (whatever that means). This strikes us as another case similar to the abolition of the so-called provocation defence in prosecutions for serious assaults and killings. For years gay rights groups drew attention to the use of this defence to justify the savage beating and killing of gay men but nothing was done until a case arose involving a young woman. "We are obliged to conclude that John Key is all spin and no delivery when it comes to issues of this sort." A number of queer youth support groups are running a letter writing campaign to the Prime Minister to coincide with Pink Shirt Day, urging the Government to introduce compulsory education regarding sexual and gender identities. You can find out more about that campaign here.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Saturday, 2nd April 2011 - 3:43pm