The First and Second National Climate Surveys on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools
RISE: Respect, Inclusion, Safety, Equity
The Second National Climate Survey on Homohpobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools
(Conducted in partnership with Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, with provided by the Dean’s Office discretionary research fund, Faculty of Arts, at the University of Manitoba.)
Still in Every Class in Every School (Peter, Campbell, & Taylor, 2021) is the Final Report on the Second National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools. This project was conducted in partnership with Egale Canada. Through the second climate survey, we heard from over 4,000 students in Grades 8-12 across Canada about their experiences with homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, harassment, mental health and sense of safety, and support at school.
Conceived as a follow up to the First National Climate Survey, published in the final report Every Class in Every School (Taylor & Peter, 2011), the Second National Climate Survey found that while there have been some improvements in the past decade, there's still much work to do to in creating safer and accepting schools for 2SLGBTQ+ youth.
Dr. Tracey Peter (Sociology, University of Manitoba) is principal investigator for this study, with co-investigators Chris Campbell (PhD candidate, Education, University of Manitoba) and Dr. Catherine Taylor (University of Winnipeg).
Some highlights from the second report include:
- 64% of all participants reported hearing homophobic comments daily or weekly at school.19% reported hearing slurs against trans people daily or weekly at school.
- 35% of all students who attend Catholic schools reported experiencing harassment based on their perceived sexual orientation.
- 77% of 2SLGBTQ Indigenous students had been harassed at school in the year leading up to the survey, the highest percentage of any group.
- 30% of 2SLGBTQ respondents had been the victims of cyberbullying, compared to 8% of cisgender heterosexual respondents.
- When all identity-related grounds for feeling unsafe are considered, including racialized identity and religious identity, 62% of 2SLGBTQ respondents feel unsafe at school, compared to 11% of cisgender heterosexual students.
- 20% of GBQ boys, 25% of LBQ girls, and 40% of trans respondents reported languishing mental health compared to 11% of cisgender heterosexual respondents.
- 79% of trans students who had been the victims of physical harassment reported that teachers and staff were ineffective in addressing transphobic harassment.
- 42% of 2SLGBTQ students had been verbally harassed based on their sexual orientation, and 47% had been verbally harassed based on their gender expression. Ten years ago, those figures were 51% and 57%, respectively.
FINAL REPORT
Suggested citation:
Peter, T., Campbell, C.P., & Taylor, C. (2021). Still every class in every school: Final report on the second climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools. Toronto, ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.
View Egale’s project site and download the full report here: https://egale.ca/awareness/still-in-every-class/
The First National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools
(Conducted in partnership with and funded by Egale Canada Human Rights Trust, with additional support from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in 2007-2011.)
This national survey of Canadian high school students sought to identify the forms and extent of their experiences of homophobic incidents at school and measures being taken by schools to combat this common form of bullying.
This study involved surveying 3700 students from across Canada about their experiences of homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia at school and gathered key findings on unsafe spaces for LGBTQ students at school, hearing homophobic and sexist remarks, victimization of LGBTQ students, and also institutional responses. The study also identified signs of progress and recommendations for inclusive school policies.
The First National Climate Survey produced the report Every Class in Every School: Final Report on the First National Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools. Every Class in Every School presents the findings of the First National Climate Survey and serves as a resource for educators and researchers in Canada in understanding the experiences of LGBTQ students so that they may be better equipped to create LGBTQ-inclusive schools.
Key findings from Every Class in Every School include:
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- 70% of all participating students, LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ, reported hearing expressions such as “that’s so gay” every day in school and almost half (48%) reported hearing remarks such as “faggot,” “lezbo,” and “dyke” every day in school.
- More than one in five (21%) LGBTQ students reported being physically harassed or assaulted due to their sexual orientation.
- Almost two-thirds (64%) of LGBTQ students and 61% of students with LGBTQ parents reported that they feel unsafe at school.
- 80% of LGBTQ students from schools with anti-homophobia policies reported never having been physically harassed versus only 67% of LGBTQ students from schools without anti-homophobia policies.
- 46% of LGBTQ students from schools with anti-homophobia policies reported never having been verbally harassed due to their sexual orientation versus 40% of LGBTQ students from schools without anti-homophobia policies.
- 58% of non-LGBTQ youth find homophobic comments upsetting. This finding suggests that there is a great deal of potential solidarity for LGBTQ-inclusive education among heterosexual students.
Dr. Catherine Taylor is principal investigator in this study, with co-investigator Dr. Tracey Peter and research partner Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.
FINAL REPORT:
Suggested citation:
Taylor, C., & Peter, T., with McMinn, T. L., Elliott, T., Beldom, S., Ferry, A., Gross, Z., Paquin, S., & Schacter, K. (2011). Every class in every school: The first national climate survey on homophobia, biphobia, and transphobia in Canadian schools. Final report. Toronto, ON: Egale Canada Human Rights Trust.
View Egale’s project site and download the full report here: http://egale.ca/every-class
An executive summary of the report is available below:
Click here for recommendations from the report.
Click here for scholarly publications and media coverage.