Homophobic bullying: its harmful effects on society and education

Aggressions against LGTB people in childhood or adolescence can leave after-effects.

Relationships between peers, what is initially (according to adolescents) one of the most rewarding aspects of the school context and one of the main sources of emotional and social support, can end up being a very harmful and painful element for young people.

In the scientific literature led by Olweus, it is appreciated that victims of bullying tend to have a number of individual risk factors that differentiate them from bullies. that differentiate them from bullies (e.g., gender, school grade, ethnicity, religious preferences, socioeconomic status, poor social skills, "superior" social skills, low academic achievement, etc.).

Unfortunately, one of the elements that triggers the aggressors' attention is usually the sexual orientation (or doubts about it) of the victimized adolescents, which we will call "homophobic bullying". (or the doubts about it) of the victimized adolescents, which we will call "homophobic bullying".

What is homophobic bullying?

We will define homophobic bullying as any kind of physical, social, or verbal physical, social, or verbal mistreatment voluntary and directed with the intention of generating discomfort in the victim by its sexual orientation.. There is an imbalance of power between the aggressor and the victim, and the mistreatment is usually prolonged in time.

It is considered that the responsibility for this phenomenon lies not only with the aggressor, but also with the educational institutions and society as a whole, due to the dominant social values in relation to sexuality in general. That is, even today, our society interprets heterosexuality in terms of "normality", while homosexuality (and bisexuality) is interpreted as "abnormal, weird, strange, eccentric, eccentric". homosexuality (and bisexuality) is interpreted as "abnormal, weird, strange, strange, eccentric". Thus, all those manifestations different from heterosexuality are labeled as deviant and abnormal.

We would be naive if we believed that this prevailing thinking in society is not absorbed by children and adolescents, who reproduce these social standards in their particular environment: schools and institutes. Everything that is considered "out of the ordinary" within the school context is usually the object of mockery or derision, and as we have explained above, sexual orientation is one of the reasons that "trigger" aggressions towards the victims.

Consequences of this type of aggression

LGBT people and/or those who have doubts about their affective-sexual orientation make up a population susceptible to suffer more mental health problems than the rest. Why? Very simple: this population tends to suffer a higher level of stress throughout most of their lives. tend to suffer from a higher level of stress throughout most of their lives..

Let's think about the things they have to deal with: integrating and accepting their affective-sexual orientation, talking to their family and friends, fear of rejection and non-acceptance, handling homophobic situations, putting up with the associated social stigma... Let's say it is a particular stress that heterosexual people do not necessarily have to suffer.

As we all know, childhood and adolescence are the times in which our personality is shaped and in which we tend to feel more vulnerable, and it is a really difficult time.and it is a really difficult stage to go through.

Now let's imagine what a young homosexual or bisexual person has to face, more and more. As if hormonal changes/discovering his identity/trying to fit in with his peers/performing at school/dealing with physical changes, etc., were not enough, now imagine the stress he must feel at the thought of possible rejection or non-acceptance by the people he loves most: his family and friends.

And if there is also a situation of homophobic bullying (with the consequent loss of social support among his peers), the "perfect" ingredients are being introduced to generate a breeding ground that will cause psychological problems that will last over time, such as the construction of low self-esteem, feelings of shame towards oneself, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, isolation, self-harm, and so on. In a study (Rivers, 2004) it was stated that victims of homophobic bullying were more likely to suffer from depression, depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, isolation, self-harm, etc. compared to heterosexual bullying victims.

Several studies have shown that (e.g., Bontempo and D'Augelli, 2002) the levels of victimization were higher in LGTB students or those who had doubts about their affective-sexual orientation. Within the type of victimization, in general, they tend to be more victimized at the verbal level (insults, name-calling, derogatory comments...).

Intervention in this problem

Although it is certainly a long process that needs the passage of several generations, it is necessary to educate society to eliminate the dichotomy of "normal = heterosexual", "abnormal = gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or transgender".

More specifically, schools should provide quality and inclusive sex education, addressing issues such as homosexuality and transsexuality (and not only addressing sexually transmitted diseases or pregnancy), empathy exercises towards victims, social skills to be able to stop bullying....

The main objective is to modify negative attitudes towards minority groups such as LGTBand to adopt a more inclusive vision with values such as acceptance, egalitarianism, freedom and empathy towards equals. If this topic is not addressed in a natural way in schools/institutes, leaving aside "taboo" topics, it is contributing to the LGTB population continuing to be seen as something strange, and to the perpetuation of discrimination.

After all, the school is a very powerful educational element in society, and is considered one of the main agents of socialization along with the family, so it should encourage tolerant thinking in our young people, promoting the birth of positive values towards different forms of sexual expression and gender diversity.