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Black LGBT+ pupils are far less likely than their white peers to feel safe at school, new independent research by charity Just Like Us, the LGBT+ young people’s charity, has found.
Fifty-nine per cent of white LGBT+ pupils have felt safe in school on a daily basis in the past 12 months, compared to just 52 per cent of Black LGBT+ pupils and 57 per cent of Asian LGBT+ pupils.
Black LGBT+ pupils are also twice as likely as their white peers to say they have “never” felt safe in school, with 6 per cent stating this compared to just 3 per cent of white LGBT+ pupils.
Dominic Arnall, chief executive of Just Like Us, has called for schools and colleges to demonstrate that LGBT+ pupils are safe and welcome.
“Our independent research devastatingly shows that Black LGBT+ young people are struggling significantly more than their peers when it comes to safety at school and tension at home, and this is having a huge impact on their mental health and wellbeing,” he told The Independent.
“LGBT+ young people need to know it’s OK to be themselves in school – especially if they don’t have accepting families at home.
“We urge schools to demonstrate that they support their LGBT+ pupils and ensure they are safe in school – taking part in School Diversity Week is a great first step to sending a much-needed positive message of support.”
The independent study of 2,934 pupils aged 11 to 18 (1,140 of whom were LGBT+) across the UK by Just Like Us forms part of a larger report into inclusive education and the experiences of LGBT+ young people that charity Just Like Us is due to publish in June 2021.
Matthew, a 14-year-old pansexual pupil from Coventry, said: “If you don’t have a home life where people are accepting of being LGBT+, you need it to be accepted at school so you know it’s OK.”
Last week, UK Black Pride launched its inaugural Community Survey to find out more about LGBT+ Black people and people of colour in the UK.
Describing the initiative as a “labour of love”, the organisation’s co-founder, Lady Phyll, said: “Our communities remain overlooked and underestimated, but it may be that the right people aren’t doing the asking. So we’re stepping up to ask what the communities we represent feel, need and find joy in.”
This comes after research earlier this year revealed that Black LGBT+ students have been hit hardest by the Covid mental health crisis due to a combination of lockdown, family stresses and heightened racial tensions around Black Lives Matter protests, which compounded feelings of isolation.
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