Hansard

I am pleased to follow a fantastic speech by Gail Ross, although it was cut short, and to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate. I congratulate the Equalities and Human Rights Committee and the Education and Skills Committee on their work on the important cross-cutting issues that we are debating.

There is much to celebrate about young people’s time at school, but for too many young people in Scotland, their time at school is a battle. Bullying means that, for them, school becomes something to be endured rather than enjoyed. Instead of school being an environment in which they thrive, prejudice-based bullying at school means that some young people struggle to survive.

The TIE campaign research is well established and well known among colleagues in the chamber, but the sheer awfulness of the findings bears repeating as loudly and as often as possible. Ninety per cent of LGBTI young people experience bullying at school because of their identity. Twenty-seven per cent of those attempt to take their own life and 15 per cent try to do that more than once. Beyond those statistics are real stories and real people—and real devastation as a result of the havoc that is wreaked upon individuals because of the prejudice that they face.

I will talk about the experience of one of my young constituents whom I have been supporting in recent months because of the absolutely appalling treatment that they have faced at school as a result of their gender identity. Their story, albeit anonymised, can tell us more about what needs to change, and why, than standalone statistics or reports ever can. That young trans person has been the victim of an appalling catalogue of abuse and harassment by other pupils at a school in South Lanarkshire. From name calling and physical assault to consistent online harassment and verbal abuse—abuse and harassment that really is as bad as it can get. The situation has deteriorated to the point at which that young person has already, on one occasion, tried to take their own life. The campaign of abuse, which remains on-going and incessant, means that my young constituent faces a daily battle of torment and frequently misses out on school because the pressure of facing the harassers is just too much to cope with.

To date, that young person is still struggling to access the adequate support that they need from the school. That is largely because of a lack of adequate reporting and recording of prejudice-based incidents and an apparent inability on the part of the school leadership to see the bullying incidents, which amount to a pattern of abuse, as part of a wider cultural problem. The school cannot even recognise a hate crime when it sees one.

I continue to work with that young person, their family and the school. Last week, I met the local authority again to try to make some progress. It has been heart-breaking at times to witness the utter dejectedness that that young person has come to expect at such a young age.

When I spoke to the young person recently, I heard something that seemed to sum up their experience well. It is also utterly unacceptable. I heard that school for them is not or cannot be about making friends or having an enjoyable experience; it is simply about their trying to survive through their next few years so that they can receive an education. That sentiment is a shocking indictment of the experience of some of our LGBT young people, and we must do better. School should not be a battle; we need to change urgently.

As we know, the experience of my young constituent is not the experience of all young LGBT people in schools. On a more positive note, earlier this week I was fortunate to be in Brannock high school in Motherwell with the TIE campaign. I was overwhelmed and amazed by the supportive environment that has been fostered in that school. It is clear that the school is outward looking and forward thinking, and it was a delight to speak to its LGBTI committee, which was newly established in August. That committee provides a welcoming and safe support network for pupils of all ages in the school. The commitment and passion of Ms Divers, who helped to set up the committee, and the headteacher, Mr Colquhoun, were clear to see and truly impressive to me as a visitor to the school.

On Monday, we talked about today’s debate—Brannock high school knows that it is happening—and young people were keen that their voices should be heard, so I agreed to read out some of their questions. The experts include Jamie McClean, Rachel Dillon, Sophie Steele and Keirah Gillespie.

Some of the issues that the group wanted me to raise with members today·are about what can be done to ensure that all teachers receive compulsory training on LGBTI-inclusive education; how we can make PSE content on LGBTI issues in family life and sexual health compulsory for all schools and pupils; and how LGBTI bullying can be recorded so that we know the true bullying figures and can be confident that schools are recording the bullying. I am sure that the pupils at Brannock will be interested to hear from the committee and the Government on those points.

With the right attitude and support, we know that things can be different. The experience of Brannock high school gives me hope that things can and will change. However, that should not be down to luck and what catchment or postcode area people live in. That is why I believe that we need legislative change, with the obligation to record prejudice-based bullying incidents being placed on a statutory footing, as well as a legal duty for all education institutions to provide inclusive sex and relationship education.

It strikes me that there is wide agreement across the chamber about what needs to be done, so it is the pace of the change that we now need to work on.