Supporting mental health and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ students in education environments

This policy position contains topics that may be distressing including homophobia, harassment, self harm, and suicidal ideation.

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Supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all students is every bit as important as promoting academic success.

Mental health issues such as depression and anxiety are an increasing concern for all students, regardless of their gender identity or sexuality, with headspace’s National Youth Mental Health Survey (June 2020) finding that 1 in 3 Australian young people reported high or very high levels of distress (34%).

While the current COVID-19 climate reminds us that mental health support is vital for every student, leaders on all sides of the political spectrum must pay particular attention to those who have been at heightened risk for decades; LGBTIQA+ students being one such group. 

Our South Australian LGBTIQA+ communities have experienced a long history of homophobia, transphobia, discrimination and abuse. As a result, we’re at a higher risk of mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety and often suicide.

This is especially so for LGBTIQA+ students, with recent research finding that Australian LGBTIQA+ young people aged 14-21 were 3 times as likely as those in the general Australian population to report high or very high levels of psychological distress. 

The tragic reality of leaving psychological distress and poor mental health unaddressed is the needless loss of young lives, with over 50% of LGBTIQA+ South Australians reporting having experienced suicidal ideation in the past 12 months, a rate of more than 5 times that of the general population. 

At its core, being LGBTIQA+ alone doesn’t make us suicidal – it’s our experiences of living in societies that don’t accept and include us that make us feel unwelcome, unsafe and unprotected in spaces such as school environments.

We need our decision-makers to put policies in place to address the root causes of these tragic statistics and promote inclusion, respect, and safety to prevent further suffering and loss of young lives.

82% of respondents to SARAA’s 2021 Election Survey identified this as an extremely or very important issue, making this one of the most important issues for LGBTIQA+ South Australians and their allies. So too must it be for our political leaders.

SARAA calls on our leaders to support the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTIQA+ students in education environments and affirm our communities Vision for SA Pride 2030 through the following strategies:

1. Address discrimination and harassment against LGBTIQA+ students

Despite progress in community attitudes and LGBTIQA+ rights legislation over the years, young LGBTIQA+ people continue to experience discrimination and harassment in education settings that put them at risk of poor mental health.

As Writing Themselves In 4 researchers state:

Experiences of poor mental health within LGBTIQA+ communities must always be understood within a context of prevailing homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and other forms of stigma that are embedded in many parts of society.

More than half of South Australian participants in this research stated they felt unsafe or uncomfortable at secondary school due to their sexuality or gender identity in the past 12 months.

This reflects the experiences of our LGBTIQA+ Community Advisory Group, with one respondent stating:

There was no support for queer students at my school. There were maybe two openly queer students and you could always tell they were unfairly treated. Sometimes the teachers even encouraged bullying of LGBTIQA+ people.

Similarly, the response, or lack thereof, by schools and education institutions to bullying and harassment on the basis of sex, sexuality or gender identity is also of deep concern to parents of LGBTIQA+ children.

Tackling discrimination, stigma, violence and hate towards LGBTIQA+ communities, for example through the promotion of LGBTIQA+ anti-bullying policies, is pivotal to improving the mental health of LGBTIQA+ young people.

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Discrimination and harassment in faith based schools

In discussing LGBTIQA+ discrimination, we must note the prevalence of discrimination in faith-based schools.

Discrimination towards LGBTIQA+ communities from anyone is unacceptable, regardless of their faith.

Importantly we note that many LGBTIQA+ South Australians and some of our biggest allies are people of faith. Religion and LGBTIQA+ discrimination are by no means synonymous.

However we note that majority of complaints we receive about discrimination in school settings relate to faith-based schools.

As one 18-24 year old bisexual woman from regional South Australia stated in our 2021 Election Survey:

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A recent report, ‘No Exceptions: Creating Safer LGBTQIA+ schools‘ (August 2021) by the South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People examining the experiences of South Australian LGBTIQA+ young people in faith-based schools found:

Almost all those who identified as being part of the LGBTQIA+ community reported that they believed their school discriminated against them and other LGBTQIA+ students. The young people also believed religious schools as a sector discriminated against young people on the basis of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

As the Commissioner states:

“I have heard directly from young people who told me that peers who identify as gay and non-binary are being discriminated against and subjected to bullying at their school. Others have said they keep this aspect of their identity “secret” to avoid unwanted attention from teachers and peers.

Students have also reported that ‘judgement’ by others has a negative impact on their mental health, their motivation to participate, and their self-worth. These young people have told me that they live in fear of being punished and excluded, and not belonging.

2. Improve access to LGBTIQA+ inclusive mental health support for students

In the immediate short term, we need to improve access to inclusive and appropriate mental health support for LGBTIQA+ young people in schools.

The sooner we invest in young people, the greater their chance for recovery and success. 

This was clearly reflected by the experiences of a trans man aged under 18 from Flinders Park who responded to our 2021 Election Survey stating:

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Likewise, the importance of safe spaces was important to one member of our LGBTIQA+ Community Advisory Group who told us:

I went to a Catholic school and the first thing a teacher said to me after I came out as bi was that I have nothing to be proud of.

There were 2 teachers who went out of their way to support our mental health and create safe spaces for us. The school cracked down on it and shut them down. If I had more teachers who could advocate for me I’d probably have better mental health.

SARAA urges leaders to adopt the recommendations of Writing Themselves In 4 in relation to mental health, specifically:

  1. initiating early intervention programs to recognise and respond to suicidality among LGBTQA+ young people;
  2. providing inclusive, culturally safe mental health services;
  3. facilitating access to specialist mental health services, such as those provided by LGBTQA+ community-controlled organisations; and 
  4. facilitating dialogue between mental health services demonstrating good practice in meeting the unique needs of this population and other organisations who need to develop such capacity.

3. Support for educators to promote LGBTIQA+ inclusion

Students who identify as LGBTIQA+ or who may be exploring their identity need support, and teachers need to know how to provide it. 

We know that many teachers want to do their best to support students to grow and thrive and celebrate diversity and inclusion, particularly around sexuality and gender expression. 

To do this effectively, they need to be supported by education institutions through regular training, affirming organisational policies and positive systemic cultural attitudes of the organisations they work within.

Creating inclusive schools, Universities and vocational education environments will enable LGBTIQA+ people to study, feel safe and thrive in these communities.

The current lack of LGBTIQA+ specific resources in schools is felt by students and staff alike, as shown in these words from members of SARAA’s Community Advisory Group when asked about their experiences with the education system:

When I went through Uni I trained to be a music teacher. There was no education about supporting LGBTIQA+ students. The only thing I got told was that if a student came out to me, not to tell them they’d go to hell.

Another member told us:

Everyone knows to send queer students to queer teachers. This puts a lot of pressure on both students and teachers in homophobic school environments. You’re not supported by the school, but you’re expected to do the work because the students don’t have anyone else.

SARAA strongly recommends education institutions participate in LGBTIQA+ inclusion training, for example by getting in contact with the Department for Education’s Engagement and Wellbeing team for free training and support, or taking SHINE SA’s Gender Diversity in Schools training for educators and schools.

4. Create educational environments that affirm the identities of its students

We need educational institutions to proactively demonstrate their support for LGBTIQA+ students.

This was essential for participants of the Writing Themselves In 4 study who, when asked what made them feel good about themselves, stated:

‘Being able to finally cut my hair short.’

(Aged 16 years)

‘Dressing the way I want to, having friends and family refer to me by the right name and pronouns, seeing the changes in my body as I progress in HRT.’

(Aged 18 years) 

‘Being able to dress the way I want, being more like how I want to be.’

(Aged 18 years)

‘Being able to be me without being patronised or excluded.’

(Aged 18 years)

Creating an educational environment that affirms the identities of its students includes:

  • ensuring LGBTQA+ young people feel seen and heard within the curriculum or other education-related activities, especially in relation to sexual health and relationships education
  • helping to start a GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) where LGBTIQA+ students and allies can meet and get to know each other
  • having policies and processes in place to support transgender and gender diverse young people, for example: 
    • using their preferred name and pronouns
    • providing them with access to toilets and change room facilities that match their gender 
    • allowing students to wear a uniform that matches their gender 
    • allowing students to participate in sport as their gender
  • putting up LGBTIQA+ affirming posters, art, and information in a classroom or common room
  • celebrating LGBTIQA+ days of significance like Wear It Purple Day.

The Department for Education’s Gender diverse, intersex and sexually diverse children and young people policy and procedure provides some great guidance for educators in supporting transgender and gender diverse young people. Likewise, the Department’s Wellbeing and Engagement Team is available to provide practical guidance for schools in supporting LGBTIQA+ students in line with the policy.

While structures are in place to support LGBTIQA+ students in the public system, they’re not widely known about. Even though compliance with the policy is mandatory across South Australian public schools, it’s difficult to enforce and relies on schools and communities to comply. Similarly, there’s seemingly little awareness of the Department’s Wellbeing and Engagement support service.

We call on both public schools and the Department for Education to do more to promote and implement this policy and increase awareness of available support and training services from the Department across South Australian schools.

Recommendations

SARAA calls on our leaders and educational institutions to:

1. Address discrimination and harassment against LGBTIQA+ students, for example by: 

    • promoting LGBTIQA+ anti-bullying policies 
    • closing loopholes in our anti-discrimination law that allow faith-based schools to fire and not hire LGBTIQA+ teachers and expel LGBTIQA+ students.

2. Improve access to LGBTIQA+ inclusive mental health support for students by:

    • initiating early intervention programs to recognise and respond to suicidality among LGBTQA+ young people;
    • providing inclusive, culturally safe mental health services;
    • facilitating access to specialist mental health services, such as those provided by LGBTQA+ community-controlled organisations; and 
    • facilitating dialogue between mental health services demonstrating good practice in meeting the unique needs of this population and other organisations who need to develop such capacity.

3. Support educators to promote LGBTIQA+ inclusion, for example by participating in LGBTIQA+ inclusion training.

4. Create educational environments that affirm the identities of its students by:

  • ensuring LGBTIQA+ young people feel seen and heard within the curriculum or other education-related activities, especially in relation to sexual health and relationships education
  • starting a GSA (Gender and Sexuality Alliance) where LGBTIQA+ students and allies can meet and get to know each other
  • having policies and processes in place to support transgender and gender diverse young people, for example: 
    • using their name and pronouns
    • providing them with access to toilets and change room facilities that match their gender
    • allowing students to wear a uniform that matches their gender
    • allowing students to participate in sport as their gender
  • putting up LGBTIQA+ affirming posters, art, and information in a classroom or common room
  • celebrating LGBTIQA+ days of significance like Wear It Purple Day
  • promote and implement the Department for Education’s Gender diverse, intersex and sexually diverse children and young people policy and increase awareness of available support and training services from the Department across South Australian schools.

Authorised by K Vincent for the South Australian Rainbow Advocacy Alliance Inc, Adelaide.

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