The Jacksonville Area Sexual Minority Youth Network, has released results of the first-ever Survey of Northeast Florida Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Questioning Students. Funded by the Chartrand Foundation and conducted by Dr. Laura Lane for JASMYN, the “Support for Students Project” polled Northeast Florida middle and high school students that identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Questioning (LGBTQ) from 26 Northeast Florida schools over a six-month period earlier this year. The survey focused on whether LGBTQ students felt safe in their schools.
“This is the first local school survey reporting on Northeast Florida LGBT students’ perceptions of safety and school climate,” said Watson, “and offers responses from students who are most vulnerable to harassment and violence on school property—a population that is also more likely to dropout. Bullying, verbal and physical abuse and other types of harassment often result in LGBTQ students missing school, which, in turn, impacts dropout rates. Precise dropout rates among LGBT students are difficult to pin down, but the American Psychological Association has estimated that almost a third of LGBT students drop out of high school, more than triple the national rate. For that and other reasons, this survey is allowing us to better identify the local challenges and solutions for this population.”
Highlights of the survey’s findings include:
• 77% of students report being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation in the past year.
• 65% of students who reported being verbally harassed did not report it to adults at their school.
• 48% of students reported being bullied on school property during the past year.
• 73% of students hear anti-gay remarks often or frequently.
• Nearly one in five students (19%) report that when staff or teachers are present they never intervene in anti-gay remarks.
• 15% lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning students reported they did not know one supportive teacher or staff member at their school.
Watson stated that making schools safe places for its most vulnerable students ensures that all students feel respected and comfortable. She went on to say that helping teachers and faculty become more aware of the impact of bullying on all students, along with the specific issues facing LGBTQ youth, has been the impetus behind “Teaching Respect for All—Creating Safe Schools for LGBT Students,” a workshop JASMYN conducts annually for teachers, guidance counselors and school administrators. This year’s workshop, held at the end of October included more than 100 attendees from 30 schools throughout the Northeast Florida area.
“The response to this workshop was powerful and you could see participants experience ‘a-ha moments’ as they listened to the presenters and student panel, which featured seven high school students from all over Northeast Florida. The survey results reinforce the importance of this type of continuing education for educators,” Watson said.
For additonal information contact Cindy Watson at (904) 389-3857 for more information or download the full Support for Students Initiative