Gay insults become too much to bear

For years it has been the most popular insult in school playgrounds - fag, poofter, queer - and those are the tame versions.

Last year, a survey of 821 students at 107 New Zealand high schools found that one-fifth of students did not believe gay or bisexual students would feel safe at school.

The study, by the Children's Issues Centre at Otago University, found that gay students were likely to suffer verbal harassment and some were likely to encounter physical abuse.

Many were thought to be "invisible".

Research by Auckland University doctorate student John Fenaughty found that negative experiences at school are much more associated with young gay men attempting suicide than negative experiences at home.



Mr Fenaughty said many of the more than 100 young men (aged 16-26) he interviewed had been victimised at school.

Twenty-one-year-old Henry put it this way: "My suicide attempt was not because I was gay, it was basically because I didn't want to fight any more. I had gone through that [disclosure] process, so I wasn't trying to die because of that reason ... It was basically a really hard day at school, I had a chair thrown at my head, for like perhaps the third or fourth time that month or so, and just heaps of crap happened.

"They [the students] used to take my folder and write all crap in it if I left it around anywhere, and my locker used to be trashed all the time ...

"On the last day a chair was thrown at my head and I got really angry, and so I sort of threw it back, and the teacher at the front of the class said, 'That wasn't very nice' and just carried on teaching the lesson.

"I was so [angry]. So I went home, had dinner, and tried to kill myself."

Mr Fenaughty said most did not believe their teachers were supportive of homosexuality. All said schools needed to be more proactive, provide more accurate information and ensure that bullying was not tolerated.

It was important parents knew when school was not a safe place for their child and did something about it rather than adding to the problem.

Last year, the secondary teachers union published guidelines for schools to ensure they provide a safe, positive environment for "people of every sexuality" - something they are legally required to do.

Robin Duff, a member of the Safe Schools Taskforce, said the guidelines were prompted by concerns from staff and parents about a lack of safety in schools, particularly derogatory and abusive language.