Bullying & Safe Schools for LGBT Students

Michigan Project for Informed Public Policy Research Fact Sheet: What does the Social Science Research Tell Us about the Impact of Bullying on LGBTQ Young People? (PDF, 588KB) 
October 2012

Bullying and School Climate
A general APA primer on bullying for federal policy makers; includes recommendations specific to sexual orientation and gender identity.

Improving Emotional and Behavioral Outcomes for LGBT Youth
A guidebook for helping address the needs of LGBT youth and their families.

Good Policy and Practice in HIV and Health Education
Education Sector Responses to Homophobic Bullying by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

Hostile Hallways
It's not as common as run-of-the-mill bullying, but sexual harassment in schools may have worse long-term effects, research suggests.
Monitor on Psychology^®, February 2012

Playgrounds and Prejudice: Elementary School Climate in the  United States, A Survey of Students and Teachers (PDF, 5.8MB)
A report from GLSEN, January 2012

UNESCO leads a landmark anti-bullying initiative, first-ever international consultation to address bullying against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and inter-sex (LGBTI) students in educational institutions.
Dec. 13, 2011

High School Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) and Young Adult Well-Being: An Examination of GSA Presence, Participation, and Perceived Effectiveness; Applied Developmental Science, November 2011

Suicide and Bullying: Issue Brief (PDF, 381KB) by the Suicide Prevention Resource Center, with special attention to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth.

U.S. Commission on Civil Rights report Peer-to-Peer Violence + Bullying: Examining the Federal Response (PDF, 2.7MB).
Sep. 26, 2011

Larkin Street Stories: The Homeless LGBT Experience, a video series funded by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)
April 15, 2011

The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) Suicide Prevention Research Center has produced "After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Schools." It describes common warning signs and causes of suicide, provides best practices on suicide prevention in schools, and provides information about how a school should respond when a suicide has occurred.

Aug. 4, 2010, Coalition Letter to Secetary Sebelius on Bullying, Cyberbullying, and Harassment Recommendations (PDF, 88KB)

The US Health Resources and Services Administration sponsors the Stop Bullying Now! campaign, which has produced numerous low-cost, best-practices resources about bullying awareness, prevention and intervention.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

The GroundSpark Respect for All Project facilitates the development of inclusive, bias-free schools and communities by providing media resources, support and training to youth, educators and service providers.

The Gay-Straight Alliance Network offers bilingual information and resources on how to start a Gay-Straight Alliances as well a list of existing GSAs.

The Safe Schools Coalition works to help schools become safe places where every child can learn regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation.

The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute/National Center for Transgender Equality offers Opening the Door to the Inclusion of Transgender People: The Nine Keys to Making Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organizations Fully Transgender-Inclusive (2008, PDF, 2.98 MB).

The National Youth Violence Prevention Center offers resources and training and technical assistance to support communities’ efforts to plan, implement and evaluate effective youth violence prevention efforts.

The CDC Division of Injury and Violence Prevention offers extensive guidance on preventing:

1. Youth bullying and violence,

2. Teen dating abuse,

3. Sexual abuse, and

4. Suicide.

The Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools in the US Department of Education administers various programs that promote safe schools, effective crisis response, drug abuse and violence prevention, and the health and well being of students.

The Office for Civil Rights in the US Department of Education provides guidance about and enforces key federal civil rights laws in the nation’s school, including laws preventing sexual harassment.

The Youth & Schools Program of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project works to make public schools safe and bias-free, defends free expression in public schools, and works to help students establish gay-straight alliance clubs.

Lambda Legal is a civil rights organization for lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Child Welfare Information Gateway connects child welfare and related professionals to comprehensive information and resources to help protect children and strengthen families.

Special Issue: Creating and Maintaining Safe and Responsive Schools for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer Youths, Journal of School Violence, Dec. 5, 2012

Suicidal Ideation and Self-Harm in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Youth, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, March 2012

Inequities in Educational and Psychological Outcomes Between LGBTQ and Straight Students in Middle and High School; Educational Researcher; October, 2011, Volume 40. Press release with link to the journal.

High school bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidality. In Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, October 2011.

CDC Report (PDF, 1.74MB) Finds Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Students at Greater Risk for Unhealthy, Unsafe Behaviors
June 2011. Press Release.

The Social Environment and Suicide Attempts in Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth, Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, Pediatrics, published online April 18, 2011

Bullying and Suicide - Klomek, A. B., Kleinman, M., Altschuler, E., Marrocco, F., Amakawa, L., & Gould, M. S. (2011). High school bullying as a risk for later depression and suicidality. Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior, 41(5), 501-516.