The call to end homophobic and transphobic violence in education has been boosted by an additional six countries signing up to a Call for Action by Ministers, taking the number of supporting countries to 32.
Countries have until the end of July to add their support to the Call for Action which was issued at the end of a two-day International Ministerial Meeting on violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, at UNESCO in Paris.
The meeting drew together Ministers and representatives from government, civil society, UN agencies and other multi-lateral agencies, with a total of 67 countries represented.
Andorra, Denmark, Honduras, Norway, Switzerland and Uruguay join 26 other supporters of the Call for Action, that commits them to strengthening and scaling-up education sector responses to ensure schools are places where children and young people can learn free from threats and violence.
UNESCO’s Out In The Open global report on the theme shows that students who are perceived not to confirm to prevailing sexual and gender norms, including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT) are particularly vulnerable. In the United States, 85 per cent of LGBT students experienced homophobic and transphobic violence in school, while in Thailand, 24 per cent of heterosexual students experienced violence because their gender expression was seen as non-conforming.
Zero tolerance for all forms of bullying
At the UNESCO meeting in May the Minister of Education and Research from Norway, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen, said: “This is not only terrible for every student or parent involved, it is also a serious problem for our societies. We must have zero-tolerance for bullying of any sort, and pay particular attention to already vulnerable groups," he said.
Denmark’s Minister for Children, Education and Gender Equality, Action, Ms. Ellen Trane Nørby, said school-related homophobic and transphobic bullying has severe consequences for children and young people’s well-being and future prospects.
An information meeting to be held at UNESCO, Paris, on 6 July will include an update on the Call for Action and an outline of the next phase of work. The final text of the Call for Action by Ministers, including the list of all supporting countries, will be published in August 2016. It will be featured in a new publication by the Office of the Special Representative on Violence against Children, on the protection of children from bullying and cyberbullying, to be released during the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2016.
Countries supporting the Call for Action by Ministers are: Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Cabo Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Denmark, El Salvador, Fiji, Finland, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Japan, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Mozambique, The Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United States of America and Uruguay.
Countries have until 29 July 2016 to confirm their support. UNESCO permanent delegations should contact Mr Christophe Cornu, Section of Health and Education c.cornu(at)unesco.org and Mr Yongfeng Liu yf.liu(at)unesco.org.
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