by Rex Wockner
A YouGov survey of more than 2,000 primary and secondary school teachers has revealed that homophobic bullying affects more than just the 150,000 gay pupils in British schools, the gay lobby group Stonewall reported March 10.
The "Teachers Report" found that boys who work hard, girls who play sports, young people with gay parents and young people who are presumed to be gay all experience anti-gay harassment.
Findings included:
* Nine in 10 secondary school teachers and two in five primary school teachers said pupils experience homophobic bullying even if they are not gay.
* Homophobic bullying is the most prevalent form of bullying after bullying because of weight.
* The vast majority of incidents go unreported by pupils.
* Forty-three percent of secondary school teachers and three in 10 primary school teachers have heard anti-gay remarks by other school staff.
* Nine in 10 teachers have received no training about homophobic bullying.
"This survey reveals how much remains to be done by our schools to demonstrate to all pupils that homophobic bullying is unacceptable," said Stonewall Chief Executive Ben Summerskill.
