IT doesn’t hurt to sit back sometimes, when the sun is shining as beautifully as it has been over the past week, and appreciate how much progress Scotland has made on equality.
June traditionally is international Pride month, where parades take place across the world celebrating LGBT identity.
In our little corner of the world this week, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon paid tribute to the TIE Campaign on its third anniversary. This groundbreaking effort was set up by Jordan Daly and Liam Stevenson in a bid to tackle homophobic bullying in schools. Daly, now 23, has spoken candidly before about his struggles at school, and how he was left feeling suicidal under the pressures he was facing.
Homophobic bullying and ignorance was rife in schools, and Daly was too terrified to tell anyone – friends, parents or teachers – that he was gay. It had a profound effect on him.
His experience inspired him and Stevenson, two novice campaigners, to come up with the idea of LGBT inclusive education in schools. By educating young people on LGBT issues and how much damage the use of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language can have on people, the pair hope they can substantially reduce its occurrence in schools.
So far, TIE has been an incredible achievement. It's remarkable that two men who'd had little to no campaigning experience have gone from dreaming about an idea to becoming two of the most impressive operators in Scotland. They quickly pulled in high profile support for their aims from politicians across all parties. They put an incredible amount of time and effort into schooling themselves on the processes of parliament. They forged strong collaborations with existing LGBT groups, and they came up with a prospectus that is both achievable and effective.
Their efforts have brought them international attention, too. In these pages today the Sunday Herald reports the encouraging results of joint research between TIE and Purdue University in Indiana, USA, into the effect of LGBT inclusive assemblies in schools. While TIE has been lobbying for legislative change, Daly and Stevenson have been touring Scotland pro-actively until that comes to fruition, going into schools to discuss the issues with young people and get things moving. The way they see it, there is no time to spare when young people are struggling. For them, it's a fundamental human rights issue.
When it comes to forms of hate such as racism or sexism, schools have traditionally been much more pro-active. However, when it comes to LGBT issues, despite huge societal progress in the area, schools are still only emerging from the shadow of Section 28.
The law, repealed in 2000, prevented teachers from discussing LGBT issues with children in schools. Debates about whether or not it should be scrapped were ferocious at the time. Indeed, it’s sometimes hard to believe, given how controversial repealing it was, that same sex marriage was legalised in the same country just 14 years later. Change happens quickly when tired, old ways of thinking are consigned to the dustbins of history.
But TIE’s research has found that teachers still feel ill prepared in dealing with issues around LGBT, and there is support for teacher training programmes to help overcome any barriers.
What TIE has also found in the course of its work is how harmful homophobic bullying towards young people is. According to its research, more than a quarter of young people have attempted suicide as a result of it, underlining the sense of urgency in tackling it.
It’s deeply moving and inspiring, then, that a young gay man like Daly, only 20 when he co-founded TIE, has emerged from his own painful experiences to take concrete action that could literally save young lives in the future.
As the Scottish Parliament headed into recess this week, TIE somewhat stole the show when it pulled off one of the best stunts the Parliament has ever seen. To mark TIE’s anniversary, MSPs from all parties poured into the chamber for First Minister’s Questions wearing rainbow-coloured ties – the campaign’s emblem – to show support.
It was an emotional moment; the thought of young people, who may be struggling today like Daly once was, being filled with hope at the sight of such a public display was quite beautiful. The First Minister herself, wearing a campaign badge, paid tribute to TIE and commended it for its youth-led approach, describing it as “a campaign mainly driven by young people, which I think is an inspiration to young people everywhere across Scotland, showing the power of their voices to make positive and progressive change”.
I have no doubt that the TIE Campaign will one day be considered a proud part of Scotland's history, and it will take its place in the international record of the fight for LGBT rights. When LGBT inclusive education is taught in schools, our children will learn about what TIE achieved, and how it changed lives.
Pride, indeed.
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