Homophobic name-calling is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence that occurs among young people at school. Yet students are reluctant to seek teacher help when homophobic bullying occurs. We investigated what enables bystanders to seek help from teachers when they witness the homophobic harassment of a peer who may be unwilling to…

LGBTIQ children and adolescents experience disproportionate levels of bullying. "Safe Schools," an Australian anti-bullying program, has recently been a site of public debate, with parents and their imagined concerns being central to the debate. This study investigated how parents construct gender, sexuality, and bullying, in relation to…

Policy is an important part of prevention and intervention when it comes to peer bullying amongst university students. Therefore, the contents of these policies need to be informative and easy to find, understand and use. With the United Kingdom having a low prevalence of peer bullying at university when compared to other countries, determining…

The furore has recently dissipated, however the 'Safe Schools' behemoth, generated and perpetuated by Australian parliamentarians, looms still as one of the most significant education debates in past years. The following paper draws on 18,000 words spoken about 'Safe Schools' in the Australian Federal Parliament from November 2015 to August 2016.…

Many primary, secondary and tertiary educators need support to engage in inclusive pedagogical practices that challenge homophobia, transphobia and heteronormativity. We present a border-crossing pedagogy (BCP) designed to assist English language arts educators in translating knowledge into action to demolish deeply engrained anti-lesbian, gay,…

This paper explores LGBTIQ+ students' experiences of knowing, performing and holding queerness in a tertiary educational environment. Through interviews conducted with LGBTIQ+ students at a large Australian metropolitan university, we examine the students' engagement with other LGBTIQ+ students in the tertiary educational space. Although…

Young people may face conflicting and confusing messages about what it means to respond well in relation to homophobia and transphobia. Consequently, we ask--What might it mean to respond well to homophobia and transphobia? This strategy, inspired by Anika Thiem and Judith Butler, is recognition of the ambivalent conditions which structure…

Sex education and diverse sexualities are controversial topics within the primary school arena. Concepts of childhood innocence have influenced sex education curriculum, policy development and teaching practices within schools. However, research shows that primary school-aged students are aware of and talk about sexualities. The aim of this…

Australian education is delivered through government and independent systems. This article discusses how education policies on gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer students in these different sectors have affected school climates. It describes how previously published policy analysis and survey data on Australian gay, lesbian,…

Lesbians and gay men have historically been derided, harassed, silenced and made invisible in Australia. This prejudice and discrimination has been reinforced structurally through social, cultural and political institutions. Although sexual orientation is now included in state and territory anti-discrimination legislation, and recent federal…

Drawn from a larger study examining the experiences of lesbian teachers working in high schools across New South Wales (NSW), Australia, this article explores the ways in which interpersonal anti-lesbian harassment marginalises lesbian teachers. It relays some of the impacts harassment has on individuals, yet also shows that many of these teachers…

This article builds on Lugg's (2006) discussion of surveillance in public schools and how queer youth are resisting schools' current efforts to regulate sexual orientation and gender expression in the U.S. and internationally. Legal complaints initiated by queer youth against their schools for harassment and access to extra-curricular activities…

This paper examines the way lesbian identities are silenced in schools particularly through anti-lesbian harassment. Based on research with 30 self-identified lesbian teachers working across high schools in New South Wales, Australia, the discussion illustrates how various responses to anti-lesbian harassment silence the recognition of such…

Educational discourse in Australia has been dramatically altered in recent decades as neoliberal choice policies favouring an increasingly marketized, tiered educational landscape have witnessed a burgeoning of private sector schooling. In this climate, many perceive private sector schooling as providing moral, social and academic benefits beyond…

Drew on parent questionnaires, child interviews, and focus groups to investigate school incidents experienced by children of lesbian and gay parents and determine children's feelings of discrimination. Found that youngest students were frustrated by peers' lack of understanding about their families. Teasing/bullying experiences were common between…