MPIPP Newsletter
Vol. 2, No. 9

MPIPP continues to work toward enacting change throughout Michigan by focusing efforts toward making schools more inclusive and friendly to LGBTQ youth and their allies by educating the public about the psychological effects of bullying and the importance of protecting Michigan's youth and young adults.

What's happening at MPIPP?

Back to school -- As school starts, MPIPP will be sending a letter to the superintendents of Michigan's intermediate school districts and other selected districts informing them of the social-science facts about LGBTQ youth and their experience with bullying in schools. The American Psychological Association's "Just the Facts" brochure and the MPIPP Fact Sheet, "Mental Health Issues Facing Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth" will be included with the letter.

Safe at Macomb -- New MPIPP affiliates Linda Bajdo and Paulina Multhaupt are currently designing an LGBT ally training to be implemented with Macomb Community College employees this Fall and Winter. Staff members who attend the training will be required to display a "SAFE at Macomb" placard indicating their role as an ally and safe person to discuss questions/concerns regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. The SAFE at Macomb committee, which includes MPIPP project coordinator Sara Van Wormer, is also working with college president Jim Jacobs to amend the school's Equal Opportunity Employment policy to include sexual orientation, gender identity and expression to its list of protected employees.

Training for Straight Allies --MPIPP is also working with the Alliance of Straight Allies and Grand Valley State University to offer a seminar for straight allies in mid-October. More information will follow in the next newsletter and on our website as the details are confirmed.

Transgender Day of Empowerment -- New MPIPP volunteers Kiefer Paterson and Alyssa Dudley of Macomb Community College's Gay Straight Alliance helped Sara Van Wormer host a table at the Transgender Day of Empowerment, held at Affirmations on May 15th. The event served as a great opportunity to connect with the transgender community and local advocacy groups and further introduced the work of MPIPP to the LGBT community at large.

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BULLYING

Bullying and harassment of LGBTQ students is a serious national issue that affects not only student educational performance and academic achievement but also student health and safety. This issue of the MPIPP NEWS highlights this issue and provides the status on Michigan's anti-bullying legislation.

Prevalence of bullying of LGBTQ students

Statistics show that 30 percent of students in grades six through ten are affected by moderate or frequent bullying with 19 percent of students having participated in bullying.

A 2005 study of over 3,000 teens aged 13-18 showed:

• Two thirds of teens reported being physically or verbally harassed during the past school year

• Nearly 40% of teens being bullied noted being teased based on their physical appearance

• 33% were picked on due to their actual or perceived sexual orientation

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network's 2007 School Climate study (the latest available) that surveyed more than 6,200 LGBT youth nationwide found:

• nearly 90% were harassed at school in the past year.

• about 75% heard homophobic remarks often or frequently at school.

• almost 50% had been physically harassed.

• nearly 61% felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and more than 38% felt unsafe because of their gender expression.

• 30% of the students who reported such incidents said the school did nothing in response.

Impact of Bullying

Bullying of LGBT young people has profound effects on mental health and academic achievement.

Depression -- Research shows that LGBT youth ages 14-21 were significantly more likely to report depression and anxiety than their straight peers. Their depression is a result of the prejudice that surrounds them - not because they are gay or lesbian.

Suicide -- Rates of suicide among gay and bisexual youth are 20-40% higher than among heterosexual youth.

Academic achievement -- Bullying and the effects of bullying lead to a hostile school atmosphere for all youth and puts them at greater risk for academic difficulties. According to the 2007 GLSEN study, LGBT students who were more frequently harassed showed almost half a grade lower (2.8 vs. 2.4) than students who were less often harassed. Further, the study found that LGBT students who were harassed in school were less likely to pursue a college education (41.5%) than those who were not (30.1%).

Truancy -- Students were far more likely to have missed school in the past month if they were frequently verbally harassed about being gay or transgender.

2007 GLSEN Study	Missed a day	Missed a class
GLSEN Sample of LGBT students	32.7%	31.7%
National sample of secondary school students	4.5%	5.5%

GLSEN has several recommendations to help reduce the number of incidents of bullying of LGBT students in their report.

Bullying climate in Michigan

Michigan LGBTQ youth continue to feel the psychological effects of stigma and bullying associated with their identity.

According to the research done by Brenda High of Bully Police USA, Michigan is the 8th worst state in the country with regard to the number of youth affected by bullying (either as victims or perpetrators). By her estimates, there are approximately 145,202 victims of bullying, 138,488 bullies, and another 30,306 youth who are both victims and bullies for a total approximation of youth directly affected by bullying in Michigan equal to 313,996 children.

A 2005 study of Michigan teens found that 99% heard anti-gay slurs and 88% heard comments such as a boy not acting "masculine enough" or a girl not acting "feminine enough." Many times students who are perceived to be gay are also victimized.

There have been numerous studies of Michigan youth being victimized through bullying. Notable Michigan bullying incidents include:

• openly gay teen Steven Harmon of Portage who was physically attacked on his way home from school.

• Lansing 10th grader Chinea Larkin who endured anti-gay slurs at the hands of her school bus driver.

• Chrystal Eaton of Charlotte died at age 15 in 2003. An athlete and girl of mixed heritage, it is believed she was targeted for bullying because she was perceived to be gay.

Current anti-bullying legislation

Anti-bullying legislation has circulated in the Michigan state legislature for nearly a decade now. The most current version of anti-bullying legislation, House Bill 4580, successfully cleared the Michigan House but is currently stalled in the Senate.

Governor Granholm has pledged her support for passage of the bill and has vowed to sign anti-bullying legislation on behalf of the more than 3,700 public schools in the state of Michigan if it reaches her desk before she leaves office.

References:

Bostwick, W.B. (2007). Mental health risk factors among GLBT youth, National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI Multicultural Action Center, June, 2007.

Clements-Nolle K. (2006). Attempted suicide among transgender persons: The influence of gender-based discrimination and victimization. Journal of Homosexuality, 51 (3), 53-69.

D'Augelli, A.R. (2002). Mental health problems among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths ages 14 to 21. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 7, 433-456.

Diaz, E.D., Greytak, E.A. & Kosciw, J.G. (2007). The 2007 national school climate survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in our nation's schools. Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 2007.

Harris Interactive (1995). From teasing to torment: school climate in America: a survey of students and teachers. Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network (GLSEN), 2005.

Hart, T.A., Heimberg, R.G. (2001). Presenting problems among treatment-seeking gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 57, 615-627.

High, B. (2004) Estimates of children bullied state by state. Bullying Police USA. Click here for full article.

Irvine, M. (2010). A visit to my changed hometown, where bullying victim took his own life. Associated Press, April 28, 2010.

Kitts, R.L. (2005). Gay adolescents and suicide: Understanding the association, Adolescence, 40, 621-628.

Russell, S.T. (2003). Sexual minority youth and suicide risk. American Behavioral Scientist, 46, 1241-1257.

Schneider, M. (1998). Pride, prejudice and lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. In Schneider (ed.), Pride & prejudice: Working with gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth, 11-27. Toronto: Central Toronto Youth Services.

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"Usually we think that brave people have no fear. The truth is that they are intimate with fear."

-- Zen Master Pema Chrodron

 

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