Irish schools to tackle homophobia

Irish secondary schools have been given a guide to help them support their lesbian, gay and bisexual students after research showed that four out of five teachers witnessed verbal homophobic abuse but did not know how to handle it.

The Irish Minister for lifelong learning, Sean Haughey, launched the report today, saying that “the 21st century school is one that is safe and supportive of all students, including lesbian, gay and bisexual students. As with all bullying in schools, homophobic bullying is unacceptable and a whole-school approach is required to ensure that lesbian, gay and bisexual students are safe and supported and achieve their full educational and personal potential.”