Home Press Work for us. We build better family lives together. Chat to us online. What is homophobic bullying? Advice on LGBTQ bullying Estimated read: 8 minutes Homophobic bullying is when people behave or speak in a way which makes someone feel bullied because of their actual or perceived sexuality. Key points: If this bullying spills over into threats or violence then it should be reported to the police as a hate crime Check that the school has a separate anti-homophobic bullying policy and not something tacked on to their general bullying policy If you're being bullied in this way you need to tell your parents, an adult you trust or report it to a teacher.
Keep a diary of the remarks or behaviour as this can help when the bullying is investigated. Dealing with LGBTQ bullying If you're being bullied in this way you need to tell your parents and report it to a teacher. What can parents do? Parents and carers can play an important role in tackling homophobic bullying and some ways you can help is by: Talk to your child. Ask how they are feeling and if everything is OK at school, rather than if they are being bullied.
They may be embarrassed and worried that you will think they are gay, so might choose not to say anything Remember that homophobic bullying can affect any young person, regardless of their sexual orientation Be supportive. Your child needs to know that if they do decide to talk to you about bullying, you will listen and that they can trust you with what they tell you. Let them tell you in their own time, and ask them how they want to proceed. Preferably approach the school together Check with the school what t heir policies are for dealing with bullying and in particular, homophobic bullying Involve your child in any decisions that are taken on how to tackle the bullying.
What should schools do about homophobic bullying? Further resources It may help to chat to other parents on our forums to find out how they are dealing with this issue within their family life.
This page was updated on September Donate now For support call our confidential helpline on or email us at askus familylives. In residential schools, it is imperative that wardens and members of the school administration remain vigilant to the changing dynamics of student interaction within the hostel environment, which is much different from a classroom scenario.
Counsellors need to have a collaborative attitude towards the children they deal with, not just the victims of bullying but also the perpetrators. The children need to feel like they can confide in the counsellors, only then will they relay their own insecurities, reservations and motivations behind their behaviour.
Often, due to social stigma and fear of physical or mental harm, children who are victims of bullying do not easily open up about their experience and hide whatever they have gone through. In this scenario, children can easily shut themselves out from even their loved ones.
To tackle this, they should be able to trust the counsellors enough to share their experience and try to reconcile and get over what they have been through. The guidelines also advise the school to appoint Sentinels and monitors from within the student community, preferably from the Prefectorial Board or the Student Council of the school.
These students need to be sensitized as to the gravity and seriousness of bullying, and need to be on a constant lookout for any violent behaviour amongst the students. Their role, however needs to be collaborative and passive.
Any cases of bullying they become aware of, need to be reported directly to the relevant authorities, and if an incident occurs in their presence, their involvement needs to be preventive in nature and polite towards all parties so as to dissipate the situation as quickly as possible. The onus to educate and spread awareness about bullying and how to deal with it lies on the school. Schools need to take initiatives, conduct seminars, conferences, interactive sessions between seniors and juniors and instil a sense of collaboration and unity among the students.
The guidelines also provide for the presence of peer educators, who must be trained in Life Skills, to better arm students with the practical know-how to deal with a violent or dangerous situation. It is their duty to also provide moral education to sensitize students towards their ethical responsibilities and potentially dissuade violent behaviour in students. According to the guidelines, apart from tangible ways of tackling bullying, schools also need to head in a moral direction.
These are the specific areas in which the guidelines advise educational initiatives to focus on:. The guidelines also advise school to use art to get through to students when it comes to social issues like bullying. This can take the form of stage plays, nukkad nataks, special assemblies, poster competitions, drawing or painting competitions, training programmes, debates, elocutions etc. Another purpose that these meetings would serve is to trace the cause of problematic behaviour in children.
Often what happens is that the behaviour children exhibit stems from their home environment and the behaviour of their parents. Increased coordination between teachers and parents will help gain an insight into the motivations a child has when he engages in acts of bullying. The family background is essential in the emotional and psychological development of a child. Parents are also one of the primary stakeholders in a school and need to be sensitized about the dangers of bullying and violent behaviour in kids.
Parents need to be included in the initiatives taken up by the school against bullying. It needs to be conveyed to them that it is of utmost importance that they report any incident of bullying they come across to the relevant authorities. Orientation programmes need to be conducted for the parents as well, to instil a sense of responsibility towards the children as well as the school.
It is only through the collaborative effort of the school administration, the parents and the student community that the problem of bullying can be tackled successfully. Therefore, parent-teacher meetings are a must to begin tackling the problem of bullying in schools. According to the guidelines, the methods of prevention are as important as the methods of intervention.
This can be achieved through the methods elucidated earlier and also through the increased responsibility and accountability of the school. A sanction based system is not adequate to deter bullying, there should be an active effort to prevent incidents from occurring in the first place.
A clear cut process needs to be established as to the investigation of a bullying incident. After proper investigation, an appropriate punishment or penalty needs to be meted out which should be just, fair and adequate and should not be challenged in practise. Comprehensive guidelines may be developed for School Management which includes the various actions and penalties which may be taken by the School Management as per observation and understanding the gravity of the misconduct.
Some of the recommended actions include:. It is imperative that the punishment must be in proportion to the crime committed. Therefore, a comprehensive system of progressive penalties, fines and punishments need to be established. Good suggestions could be read out in assemblies and good behaviour should be rewarded.
Focus should be put on developing communication skills from primary schools. Children should feel that they can trust their teachers completely and develop an emotional connection with them from an early age.
Strategies should be developed to make the school a more inclusive, accepting and collaborative place for children. The University Grants Commission Hereafter, UGC , on account of increasing bullying-related suicides, issued a landmark notification in to curb rampant ragging throughout higher-education institutions in India. There has been three amendments made to the circular, and it remains the primary government statute which pertains to ragging in higher education institutions.
The UGC has given three definitions of ragging, they go as follows:. Any disorderly conduct whether by words spoken or written or by an act which has the effect of teasing, treating or handling with rudeness a fresher or a junior student. Indulging in a rowdy or undisciplined activities which causes or is likely to cause annoyance, hardship or Psychological harm or to raise fear or apprehension thereof in a fresher or a junior student.
Asking the students to do any act or perform something which such student will not in the ordinary course and which has the effect of causing or generating a sense of shame or embarrassment so as to adversely affect the physique or Psyche of a fresher or a junior student. The circular makes it mandatory for every college to display overtly on every brochure, circular or form it releases pertaining to admission in that university, the fact that ragging and any activity which promotes or supports ragging is prohibited and strict action will be taken against anyone who engages in such activities.
The brochure of admission should print all the relevant regulations regarding ragging in full. It should also include the numbers of the anti ragging helpline, the head of the institution, the anti ragging cell of the university, District and Sub Divisional authorities, Wardens of hostels. The application of admission should also contain a form which is mandatorily to be filled up by any student and signed. A similar form is to be read and signed by the parents of every student as well.
The circular requires that at the start of every academic session, the head of any institution to convene a meeting of wardens, anti ragging cells, student representatives and faculty members to discuss and deliberate on improving and solidifying measures against ragging.
The onus is on the college to spread awareness about the dehumanizing effect of ragging and related behaviour. Every department, building hostel etc. The circular requires colleges to identify vulnerable areas throughout the campus and keep a constant vigil in these areas. Tightening of security in areas like the hostel, or any other secluded areas is imperative. All institutions should conduct discrete random surveys every two weeks for the first three months of the academic year in the hostels, with special focus on the junior years and the freshers.
It does allow every institution to formulate its own methodology as to the surprise surveys. The Vice Chancellor in turn needs to submit a fortnightly report to the State Level monitoring cell. These are essential steps to hold the Universities accountable for not just applying these rules but also ensuring that they are correctly and efficiently implemented.
The submission of reports to higher authorities keeps these universities under constant scrutiny and thus keeps higher institutions in check and constantly clamping down on ragging related activities. If the head of an institution receives information of a ragging related incident, either from the Anti-ragging committee or through an individual complaint, he immediately needs to ascertain whether any penal laws apply to the incident or if any section of the IPC has been violated.
In case of violation, he also needs to make sure which sections apply to the particular incident, and then file a First Information Report FIR , either on his own, or through a member of the Anti-Ragging committee authorized by him. Separate from this, an internal investigation needs to be carried out by the college authorities on their own accord. There is no need to wait for the police or the local authorities to get involved, the college has absolute authority in investigating a ragging charge in its own capacity and mete out adequate punishment.
The penalty, fine or punishment imposed by the college is separate from the criminal proceedings that will be carried out against the perpetrator. This prompt action on the part of the Commission authorities is of utmost importance.
Often, what happens is that universities, in an attempt to save its reputation and image in the eyes of the public, try to shut down cases of ragging and prevent them from getting out in the public domain.
The use of this helpline and the subsequent action by the operators on behalf of the UGC, ensure that information about the incident reaches not only the general public, but also the administrative authorities which are concerned to pursue legal investigation. In case a faculty member, warden of the hostel, member of the administration or any other official affiliated to the university, fails to report adequately about an incident, shows neglect or disregard for the incident occurred, tries to silence victims to save face, or display an apathetic or dismissive attitude towards ragging related activities, will be held accountable for their actions.
A departmental disciplinary action, as per the procedure of the institution will be conducted against such member of the administration and appropriate action will be taken. In case the negligence of the administration is attributable to the head of the institution, the authority to designated to appoint the head of that institution will carry out the disciplinary proceedings. It is imperative that these proceedings be completely free of bias or conflict of interest.
This is because, often the administration of universities have a mutual understanding with the immediate authorities that govern them, and the proceedings could be compromised. Thankfully, there are measures against something like this happening in the circular as well.
In case an institution fails to take adequate steps to prevent or deter ragging and related activities, fails to adequately punish the guilty, or conducts compromised and biased disciplinary actions against people who mishandled the situation, then the commission has the right to take the following steps:.
The first amendment to the circular happened in and was nominal in nature. A few other words were replaced throughout the circular, but were merely nominal. The third amendment was the only amendment which made a substantive change to the circular. It added in a new clause Para 3 clause 3 of the circular. It read as follows:. Any act of physical or mental abuse including bullying and exclusion targeted at another student fresher or otherwise on the ground of colour, race, religion, caste, ethnicity, gender including transgender , sexual orientation, appearance, nationality, regional origins, linguistic identity, place of birth, place of residence or economic background.
Therefore, it can be seen that the circular of was a monumental and historic step against ragging in India, and changed the attitude of universities, the media as well as the general public towards ragging in India. But this colossal legislation, as well as the cases and incidents which triggered the drafting of this legislation, has slowly but surely been changing the outlook towards ragging as a reprehensible activity.
A student nowadays has enough redressal to any untoward incident that happens with him, and even if the administration of his college fails him, there is redressal to be sought from higher authorities and strict action can and will be taken against anyone who has engaged in ragging and related activities.
College students who engage in bullying or ragging are over 18 years old and capable of committing criminal acts, therefore sections of the Indian Penal Code are applicable to them.
Some of the sections they may be found guilty under are:. A common occurrence in cases of ragging is the threat to bodily harm or a spread of false rumours about someone if they do not obey and follow the instructions of the raggers. Criminal intimidation is also used by offenders to coerce students to not report the incident that has happened. The constant threat of physical harm also prevents them from reporting the abuse to relevant authorities and they are often socially isolated and unable to seek help from any external individual or organization.
Causing grievous hurt also in extreme scenarios can sometimes result in the death or permanent disability of the victim. Unfortunately, it is not that uncommon. Seniors in colleges across the country, often in inebriated states, cause such serious harm to juniors while committing ragging, that it results in their death. Bullying is generally observed as acts or verbal remarks that could mentally hurt or alienate an individual in the working environment.
Once in a while, tormenting can include negative physical contact too. Bullying more often than not includes rehashed occurrences or conduct that is proposed to scare, outrage, corrupt or mortify a specific individual or gathering of individuals. It has likewise been depicted as the statement of power through coercion.
Some examples of Bullying in the workplace are:. This can arise out of that individual being different or unconventional in his mannerisms, being overly competent or focused, or because he suffers from social anxiety. This isolation can affect a person tremendously.
When a person finds himself completely isolated, neglected and ignored by his social environment, and any protest against this turns into hostility against him, it can cause severe mental distress. This affects productivity, focus, emotional stability, and it becomes impossible for someone to survive in an environment like this for long.
In reply, the boss threatens to fire him or deny him a promotion. Often, people do not have any redressal when they are caught in a situation like this because the power of the superior is too immense and one has a lot to lose. The choice is between doing a menial task which might be beneath your capability or even morally wrong and completely endangering your professional career. Sometimes the act may be even more severe. There have been cases all around the world where bosses have asked female employees for sexual favours in return for a promotion or a pay raise.
After the coming up of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act , these cases are better governed. But just because a legal provision exists, does not mean that it is successful in deterring violations. What needs to be considered is that the majority of Sexual Harassment cases are not reported due to the imbalance of power and coercion and blackmailing by people in positions of authority.
What ensures the continuance of such bullying is the fact that it occurs in private corporate spaces and there is no external authority governing nor is there a proper redressal or complaint system within the corporation. Therefore, to resolve these issues, there needs to be increased accountability of people in positions of power even in private spaces.
There also needs to be a shift in the attitude of society towards mistreatment of employees. There is a general consensus among the corporate workforce that to get ahead in any profession, you need to be a boot-licking sycophant and be ready to do any and everything for your superiors. This breeds a sense of dissatisfaction in the employee and he is alienated from the world. This is a more passive form of oppression in the workplace.
There is no law which deals directly with bullying in the workplace but there are other laws which regulate behaviour of individuals in a work environment. There are many labour laws which ensure a certain level of social security and the maintenance of the dignity of an individual at the workplace.
There also exists the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act which establishes strict legal sanction on any incident of harassment of women, be it physical, verbal or mental in nature. It also places strict measures on inappropriate behaviour in the workplace and has gone a long way to ensure the safety of working women in the country. Verbal bullying may include personal insults, slurs or name calling on the basis of racial or ethnic backgrounds, or even homophobic or sexually coloured remarks.
Verbal bullying is one of the most common forms of bullying and can lead to a lot of mental trauma in the victim and impair his social life. What needs to be understood is that words have a lot of power. Words work in an insidious way, slowly but surely, when a person is subjected to constant verbal abuse, their self image gets destroyed and their self esteem becomes low. The harm is primarily psychological, where constant insults and bullying makes a person feel hopelessly alone, and they start resenting the world and the people around them.
This resentment grows and festers, and can come out in a lot of ways. Some people turn to self harm or start displaying suicidal tendencies. Others lash out violently towards others in their life, be it their family, their closest friends or their loved ones. Their emotional stability is affected and they become perpetually on edge and anxious. This psychological harm can manifest in physical harm as well, as many mentally disturbed and emotionally unstable people turn to intoxicants and other chemical inhibitors to cope with their predicament.
Alcohol, marijuana related products, even hard drugs like cocaine and heroin pose grave dangers to the physicality of a person. An example of verbal bullying in schools could be calling a less sporty or physically inclined person a wimp or a nerd, and other derogatory insults which affect the self worth and esteem of a person.
Often,children find themselves incapable of tackling a situation where they are cornered and bullied on a regular basis. How can parents help their children tackle verbal bullying? Physical bullying includes hitting, kicking, tripping, pinching and pushing or damaging property. Physical bullying causes both short term and long term damage. This is the most primal expression of power, that is, physically harming someone. This sort of abuse, apart from causing injury also leads to low self esteem and a loss of confidence in the victim of such a heinous act.
A distinction needs to be made between an act of violence and physical bullying. Bullying occurs when the same person is victimized repeatedly. There also needs to be an intention to hurt, intimidate, control or dominate the other party.
Another prerequisite of bullying is that there needs to exist a real or perceived imbalance of power, arising out of brute physical capability of the oppressor or his higher social standing. So if you are someone who is experiencing LGBTI bullying and harassment, or if you witness this happening to someone, speak out.
There is always someone out there who will listen. No one should be victimised because of their sexual orientation, sex or gender identity.
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