FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Nov. 12, 2019

A survey released November 12 in Ireland shows that nearly three-quarters of LGTBI+ students feel unsafe at school. Authored by Oren Pizmony-Levy at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City and conducted by BeLonG To Youth Services in Ireland, the research is the first of a series of school climate surveys across the globe by Pizmony-Levy, an associate professor of International and Comparative Education.

The findings indicate that 73 percent of LGBTI+ students feel unsafe at school. Some 77 percent of LGBTI+ students said they have experienced verbal harassment (name calling or being threatened), 38 percent reported physical harassment (being shoved or pushed), and 11 percent said they had been subjected to physical assault (punched, kicked or injured with a weapon) because of their sexual orientation, gender or gender expression. 

While 68 percent of LGBTI+ students stated they hear anti-LGBTI+ remarks from other students, 48 percent reported hearing homophobic remarks – and 55 percent reported hearing transphobic remarks – from teachers and staff members. As a result of feeling unsafe and unaccepted at school, LGBTI+ students are 27 percent are more likely to miss school, and 8 percent less likely to pursue third-level education, the study found.

The 2019 School Climate Survey, conducted online from May to August 2019, was the largest research sample of LGBTI+ young people in schools in Ireland ever. The final sample consisted of a total of 788 students between the ages of 13 and 20, from all 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland and all four provinces. Half of the sample were female and about one-fifth (21.9 percent) were male, with the rest choosing other gender identities (trans 12.4 percent and non-binary 7.8 percent). Two-fifths (45.2 percent) of the sample identified as bisexual; one-quarter as gay; and one-fifth as lesbian (26.4 percent and 21.1 percent, respectively). The rest identified as queer (17.1 percent), pansexual (15.4 percent) or questioning (12.1 percent).

Moninne Griffith, CEO of BeLonG To Youth Services, called on Minister for Education Joe McHugh “to take immediate action and prioritise the safety and wellbeing of LGBTI+ students who are seriously at risk.” Even after Ireland passed the marriage equality referendum xxx, “our findings indicate the intense discrimination, harassment, isolation and stigma that LGBTI+ students experience in Ireland,” she said. Pizmony-Levy, who authored the study, added that the “findings show that, similar to other countries, schools in Ireland have much work to do. Documenting the experience of LGBT+ students is a critical first step toward ensuring that schools are welcoming to all students.”

For a summary of key findings or the complete report, or to arrange an interview with Oren Pizmony-Levy, contact Patricia Lamiell, lamiell@tc.columbia.edu, 212-678-3979. To arrange an interview with BeLonG To CEO Moninne Griffith, please contact Sinead Keane, Communications Manager. Mobile: 087 768 0389, sinead@belongto.org.