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Anti-bullying campaign now En español


Isabel M. Estrada Portales
Washington 's Voz
08/12/05

GLSEN
Spanish ad by GLSEN

After results of a survey showed that Latino students feel unsafe in predominantly Latino schools due to their sexual orientation, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) decided to go En español.

Going against the grain of the, perceived or real, macho culture in the Latino community, GLSEN is now enhancing its public education campaign to combat bullying and harassment in schools to reach Hispanics in both languages.

“The Teach Respect campaign was designed to educate, inform and inspire Americans to address the serious problems of anti-LGBT [lesbian, gays, bisexual, transgender] name-calling, bullying and harassment that affect ALL students – gay and straight alike – in our nation's schools,” said Kevin Jennings, Founder and Executive Director of GLSEN. “We are proud to spread these important messages even further by making them available in Spanish.”

Census numbers indicate that one in every five school age kids is Hispanic, but that's not the only reason for GLSEN's interest on reaching this community.

The School Related Experiences of LGBT Youth of Color from the 2003 National School Climate Survey found that Latino students felt more unsafe regarding their sexual orientation or gender expression at schools that were primarily Latino (61.5%) in comparison to those schools where they were the minority (with only 39.4% reporting they felt unsafe).

This situation contrast with that of African American youth. Among African American students, those who attended schools where the majority of students were African American were less likely to feel unsafe because of their sexual orientation and because of their gender expression.

The campaign will launch print and radio PSAs in Spanish, which will be distributed to media outlets across the country.

“GLSEN has involved the Hispanic community in the creation of messages that work to make schools safer for all students, including lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender students through doing focus groups, surveys and research,” says spokesperson C. Riley Snorton.

“GLSEN's research department has documented the experiences of LGBT Latino youth in schools and our Public Policy department works to create and advocate for anti-bullying policies that protect students on a range of issues including race, religion, national origin, etc,” concludes Snorton.

According to GLSEN's 2003 National School Climate Survey, 4 out of 5 LGBT students report being verbally, sexually or physically harassed at school because of their sexual orientation.