LGBTI study: ‘You still get a lot of negative slurs’

Ciara Sheehan (18) would like to hold her partner’s hand when she’s out in the city at weekends. But she doesn’t feel able a lot of the time.

“You have to be very careful, especially around town,” said Sheehan, who describes her sexual identity as queer. “You’ve to think twice about holding hands or showing any kind of affection; you still get a lot of negative slurs.”

Her school, on the other hand – Loreto College in Crumlin, Dublin – feels like a haven from the name-calling. “I go to an all-girls, Catholic, convent school – the nuns still live there,” she said. “But I’ve had very good, very positive experiences. They are very open-minded and they have strict anti-bullying policies.”

She’s acutely aware that many schools are not as progressive. She says new research which shows high levels of bullying and suicide attempts among gay teens is frightening. “I would have expected . . . better outcomes given the marriage referendum and everything that’s happened in the past few years. But it shows how much work needs to be done.”

Daniel Zagorsky (19), was less surprised at the survey results. “People, even those who voted in favour, can still engage in toxic behaviour: calling people the F-word, or fostering an atmosphere which isn’t welcoming to LGBT people,” he said.

Zagorsky, who describes himself as a trans man or bisexual, said he knows many young people struggling to cope with bullying which goes unchecked at school.

“There are still lots of schools which don’t promote anti-bullying or anti-homophobic policies,” he said.

“Students need to stand up for other students. But adults have a really big role to play. They are the ones in charge. They need to take responsibility and educate themselves.”

Dr Carol-Anne O’Brien, director of advocacy at LGBT support group BeLonG To, said the findings are stark.

Some 56 per cent of LGBT 14- to 18-year-olds had self-harmed, 70 per cent had suicidal thoughts, and one in three had attempted suicide.

“Compared to the My World national youth mental health study, LGBTI young people in this study had two times the level of self-harm; three times the level of attempted suicide; four times the level of severe or extremely severe stress, anxiety and depression” she said.

She said schools, policy-makers and parents have a crucial role to play in ensuring-bullying guidelines are implemented and followed through on the ground.

Only through this kind of sustained effort, she said, could attitudes change.