Making schools safer for young GLBT people is not PC nonsense, and must be dealt with in the next term of Parliament, says Labour Party list candidate Tony Milne. Milne says he lived through difficult experiences at high school as a gay teenager and wants the next generation to have it easier. "I came out at high school in Invercargill 9 years ago when I was 15," he says. "I was a good student, but several times wanted to leave school because of my experience of physical and verbal bullying. The homophobia from other students, and even teachers, made focussing on learning very difficult." Major recent forums such as Safety in Schools for Queers in Wellington have highlighted that creating safe schools is an important issue to be addressed, as has alarming research from Otago University that has shown gay and lesbian youth are far more likely to develop mental health problems than heterosexual youth. As well as facing the extreme pressures associated with growing up generally, Milne says, young GLBT people have the added burden of dealing with issues related to their sexuality, like coming out to friends and family. "This isn't PC nonsense," he says. "Barriers to getting good quality education should be removed to give all our young people their best opportunity to get a good education and make a success of their lives. Reducing harassment of young queer people at school, and giving them the information and support they might need is about improving educational outcomes."
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Wednesday, 10th August 2005 - 12:00pm