The Catalysts by taylortsuji

The Catalysts sts

Welcome

WELCOME: The Catalysts Project is a non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating homophobia and gender and sexuality discrimination from the school environment. We promote social change through the efforts and passion of teens because we believe they have the power to create change and influence others. One way we plan to accomplish our goal is by encouraging high school students – as well as faculty and staff – to challenge homophobia at school. We want to provide students with advice they need in order to take action within their school and their community. The Catalysts Project’s goal is to help student create a beneficial effort on campus. We’d like to see the school implement some of the actions The Catalyst Project suggests students to influence. We are eager to see the new cultures and actions students create within their environments. If you have any questions, please call or e-mail our organization. We can provide you with any details you need to know. Cheers,

Founder

Contents

INTRODUCTION

WHAT IS HOMOPHOBIA? / WHY CHALLENGE HOMOPHOBIA? / STATISTICS

IMPACT

NETWORK / GET PEOPLE TALKING / EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES / RESOURCES

CHALLENGE

REPORT / SCHOOL POLICY / SUPPORT GROUPS

SUPPORT

RELIGION / CONTACTS AND RESOURCES / GLOSSARY

Introduction

WHAT IS HOMOPHOBIA? The term homophobia describes irrational negative feelings, thoughts, and behaviors towards gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgenders, and queers. Homophobia can also extend to those who have family members or friends who are LGBTQ. Homophobia often lead to discriminatory behavior or abuse. Homophobic behaviors and actions are frequently observed in school settings in the forms of verbal and physical bullying, sexual harassment, or social exclusion. The most common acts of homophobia include name-calling; homophobic “jokes”; utilization of “fag”, “dyke”, and other derogatory terms; and negative phrases, such as “that’s so gay.”

Why Challenge HOMOPHOBIA? According to the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network’s study, negative attitudes and behaviors towards LGBTQ students have direct impacts to their educational success and levels of self-esteem and depression. When homophobia affects these areas of a student’s life, it denies them of various human rights: • The right to life, liberty and security of person. • The right to not be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. • The right to education. An unsafe school environment strips LGBTQ students of these rights.

STATISTICS

85%

of students frequently heard â&#x20AC;&#x153;gayâ&#x20AC;? used in negative context at school.

91%

of those students felt in danger because of this language.

57 %

of student reported hearing homophobic remarks from their teachers or other school staff.

60 %

of LGBTQ students who were harassed or assaulted in school did not report the incident thinking little or no action would be take or the situation would become worse.

37 %

of the student who did report an incident said the school staff did nothing in response.

Source: The 2011 National School Climate Survey by Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network

Students who experienced higher levels of victimization because of their sexual orientation were three times as likely to have missed school in the past months than those who experienced lower levels.

Victims of frequent harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender expression had lower grade point averages than most students.

Students who experienced higher levels of harassment because of their sexual orientation or gender expression were twice as likely to not plan on pursuing any post-secondary education.

Students with a supportive LGBTQ group at school heard fewer homophobic remarks and were more likely to report that school officials intervened appropriately when hearing such language.

LGBTQ students at schools with Gay-Straight Alliance groups on campus felt more connected to the school community.

HOWEVER, less than half of students said they had a Gay-Straight Alliance or similar student group at school.

Impact

NETWORK An important component of challenging homophobia is to find a support network of people who are willing to make the effort. The more people involved and actively opposing homophobic and gender and sexuality discriminative behavior will create more momentum and energy for the movement.

FRIENds: Consider friends who are interested in getting active. They don’t necessarily have to attend the same school as you. Actually, the more friends you have at different school getting involved will help spread the movement in other school environments. The idea of the support network is to have others to collaborate with and discuss issues or improvements observed.

STUDENTS: Another group worth asking to join the movement is the school’s student council. These students are usually the ones who plan school events and talk directly to teachers about school issues. The more familiar they are with the issues of homophobia and its negative affects on student victims, the more likely they will implement the cause in their work.

TEACHERS: Having faculty and staff to ask questions is a great factor. Ask them questions about school policies, rules, and how to achieve certain things directly related to the school’s guidelines and regulations. Explain what your goals are when it comes to gender and sexuality bullying and harassment so they can assist you. Teachers who highly support the movement may also be willing to implement LGBTQ issues in their curriculum as well.

GET PEOPLE TALKING Discussing homophobia is a starting point to challenging and overcoming the issue. Creating discussion about this topic presents the opportunity to talk about homophobia’s negative affects and what can be done to prevent it. Here are some topics to present to teachers and peers: • Make suggestions to supportive teachers about discussing sexuality in class. This could easily be integrated within History, English, Health, and Psychology curriculum. • Utilize your own papers and project as an avenue to approach the topic of gay rights. Perhaps through a debate on gay rights and same-sex marriages or a paper on the history of gay rights and discrimination. • Ask teachers of the possibility of inviting guests from Gay Straight Alliance organizations to speak at school assemblies or to a specific and relevant class. • Approach a counselor or school official about creating a group or club for students to find support. The more people discuss sexual and gender diversity and the affects of homophobia, the more common the idea of acceptance and the less apparent homophobia will be.

EVENTS and activities Raise awareness of homophobia and sexual and gender diversity through large participation with school events. This is also a great way to find out who else is interested in challenging homophobia in order to start a support group on campus. There is a lot of work involved in event planning in management, so connect with a large group of students and school officials to have a meeting with in order to collaborate on the type of event and how to plan, promote, and implement it. Included in this resource packet are forms to help plan and create an event or activity. Some events and activities to consider:

THE NATIONAL DAY OF SILENCE:

pledge wall:

A day of action in which students take a vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment in schools. Visit: www.DaysOfSilence.org

Pledge walls are way for students, faculty, and staff to dedicate themselves to an action that promotes the cause. Get permission from a school official to designate a wall where everyone can place a Post-It note of their pledge and signature. Collect the pledges at the end of the day and compile them into a creative piece.

GLAAD SPIRIT DAY: Encourage classmates, faculty, and staff to wear purple in support of LGBTQ youth and speaking out against bullying. Visit: www.GLAAD.org/SpiritDay

RESOURCES Having resources available and accessible helps students who may not be “out” about their sexuality or are unsure of their gender and sexuality identity. It can also help faculty and staff implement gay rights and issues in their curriculum or help provide support for students in need. to suggest permitting certain BOOKS: content. Discuss with a trust Search for books in the school faculty or staff member of the library focused on sexuality and importance of having relevant gender identity. If there are no content available for students. books related to these topics, suggest to your librarian that it OTHER RESOURCES AND would be worth ordering these SERVICES: books. Alternative to books, there Check if the school counselor are many youth-focused sexuality provides information and services magazines that can be made for students having trouble available for students through the determining their sexuality or library. gender or related incidents of bullying and harassment. If there ONLINE INFORMATION: is an insufficient amount of Many schools filter specific informational booklets, suggest content-related websites from acquiring material from relevant their internet access. Try groups and organizations. searching for information on gay rights or gender and sexual discrimination. If most websites and content related to these topics aren’t accessible on the school’s internet, ask a school official why this is so and how

Challenge

REPORT Schools should be eager to eliminate bullying of all varieties from the school environment, yet there is an abundance of cases faculty and staff are unaware of. With no knowledge of situations of bullying, there is nothing that can be done. However, by reporting cases of bullying and harassment, such as homophobia, positive actions can be taken to create a safer and more accepting environment for all students.

report situations: Once you observe or are a victim of bullying related to gender and sexuality, report the incident to a school official. The first step in getting faculty and staff to eliminate homophobic and gender and sexuality discrimination is to make sure they are aware of itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s presence within school.

Keep a record: In addition to reporting cases of homophobic bullying and gender and sexuality discrimination, keep a log of details. Take not of the time, persons involved, what occurred, and who witnessed the incident. If the case was reported, make sure to document the outcome of it. When a substantial amount of cases have been recorded, report the findings to a school official. This may also be used in varying instances when trying to change school policies or create support groups. Keep in mind, an environment consisting of bullying and harassment of any type is unsafe and discouraging to those negatively affected. By challenging homophobia and gender and sexuality discrimination, a positive school environment is being created and maintained for many. 17

SCHOOL POLICY Every school has different policies, guidelines, and expectations of the faculty, staff, students, and families. Does your schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy specifically mention homophobia or gender and sexual discrimination? If not, seek a staff member and ask why these issues are excluded from the policies. Utilize records and logs of bullying and harassment as evidence and support for adjusting the school policy to clearly specify zerotolerance for homophobia and gender and sexuality discrimination. Ask a school official what the process is for changing and adding to the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s policy. The more students, faculty, and staff that are aware of the issue and the idea to implement positive action within the school policy will make the process easier. Suggesting the school keeps a record of homophobic incidents and gender and sexuality discrimination would be a good idea. This will help the school see if improvements are being made.

SUPPORT GROUPS Whether referred to as “Gay-Straight Alliances”, “Diversity Groups”, or they have their own specific name, support groups have the same common goal of bringing together LGBTQ students and their supporters to fight against the issue of homophobia and support gender and sexual diversity at their school. Just as any other task related to challenging homophobia and gender and sexual discrimination, organizing a group takes effort. Included in this packet are forms to assist you in creating and establishing a student group. Here are a few tips and suggestions:

FIND OUT THE RULES:

SPREAD THE WORD:

Refer to a school official about the process and regulations for setting up a student club or group. Ask questions and be sure to gather all the necessary information.

Grow the group’s identity throughout school by inviting students to join. Create flyers, make announcements in classes, create ads in the school bulletin, make a Facebook group, and more.

FIND AN ADVISOR: Most students clubs and groups require at least one or more teachers to regulate and advise. Find a teacher who is supportive of the actions being taken against homophobia to make the process of starting a group easier.

FORM AN AGREEMENT: This will help in how the group is ran and what the group will do within the school. Ensure that everyone is dedicated to the movement.

Support

RELIGION Religious schools are difficult to persuade to challenge homophobia, but there are alternatives to standing against homophobic discrimination in these settings. An alternative solution is through the principles of diversity and acceptance of all students. This idea of opposing any discrimination regardless of a studentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s identity is a way of broadly challenging behaviors, which include homophobia. One route is to promote zero-tolerance for bullying, harassment, and assault. It is important that school officials, faculty, and staff address all types of bullying equally and appropriately. Another possibility is the implementation of a diversity group with the main goal and core value is to promote acceptance of all differences within the school environment. Many religions and cultures carry beliefs about homosexuality that will not change. When confronted with this, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s easiest to challenge the issue of having a safe environment which promotes health and happiness for everyone within it. As a basic human right, people are entitled to this basic need.

CONTACTS And resources personal support: www.thetrevorproject.org The Trevor Project is a national crisis intervention and suicide prevention hotline for LGBTQ teens. www.glbtnationalhelpcenter.org Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender National Hotline supports all persons connected to the LGBTQ community and even has their own youth hotline.

Social support: www.hrc.org Human Rights Campaign is dedicated to ensuring LBGTQ of their equal rights and are able to be part of safe environments at home, work, and school. www.colage.org Colage is an advocacy group dedicate to supporting the sons and daughters of lesbians, gays, and transgendered parents. www.pointfoundation.org The Point Foundation promises to help LGBTQ students achieve their full potential to make an impact on society by providing scholarships and academic support. www.GLSEN.org The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

GLOSSARY BISEXUAL:

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:

Sexually attracted to both sexes. Sexually attracted toward persons of one’s own sex.

A person’s sexual identity in relation to the gender to which they are attracted to; the fact of being heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual.

GENDER IDENTITY:

QUEER:

GAY:

A broad term for gender and An individual’s self-conviction, not based on biological gender, of sexual minorities. being male or female.

TRANSGENDER:

A person whose self-image or Sexually attracted to the opposite gender identity not traditionally associated with their biological sex. gender.

HETEROSEXUAL:

HOMOPHOBIA:

TRANSSEXUAL: An individual’s self-conviction, not based on biological gender, of An individual whose gender identity is other than their being male or female. biological gender and wishes to change their anatomy to correlate HOMOSEXUAL: with their own perception. Extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuals and homosexual TRANSVESTITE: behaviors. A person who finds pleasure through clothing and accessories LESBIAN: of the opposite gender. A woman who is sexually attracted to other women.

Taylor Tsuji