Breaking the spell of silence

Dr Bridge points to how deeply embedded homophobia remains in the school system and society, and how important it is to develop new and ever more effective ways to tackle it. To this end he includes, among his recommendations for an expanded implementation of Pride and Prejudice, the need for a, “further project exploring how to address homophobia embedded within the curriculum be developed and undertaken”.

On the basis of Dr Bridge’s findings the Tasmanian Education Minister, David Bartlett, has committed $50,000 towards ensuring that Pride and Prejudice can be implemented in every Tasmanian secondary school. In the Minister’s words:

The program is interactive, engaging and challenging, giving students an avenue to discuss a range of socially sensitive issues and topics.

As well as encouraging students to explore their thoughts and feelings about sexuality and gender difference, Pride and Prejudice helps transform school culture by focusing entire school communities on the need to break down prejudice and change school culture.

The extra $50,000 will be used to extend the program to all Tasmanian secondary schools and also employ 15 specialised trainers by December next year to work with students in Government and non- Government schools.

My Department is committed to working with Working It Out and other organisations to ensure that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender young people are able to gain an education in environments that are free from bullying and harassment.

Such commitments are vital if Tasmania is to continue leading the nation towards fairer learning environments from which one of the last and most obnoxious forms of prejudice has been eliminated. But if Pride and Prejudice is to fulfill its promise more is needed.

The Government’s funding and leadership must be complemented by commitment to implement Pride and Prejudice and related anti-homophobia initiatives at a local community level. In the last few years, immigration of large numbers of gay and lesbian people to rural and regional Tasmania has heightened concern about prejudice and its adverse social impact.

This concern runs deeply in many local communities. The nation recently witnessed this when a gay couple in the North West town of Penguin were the targets of anonymous hate mail.

One way to channel concern about prejudice is with co-operative arrangements, aimed at the on going implementation of Pride and Prejudice, between regional and rural schools, local communities and NGOs, and municipal authorities. Already there are plans being mooted for such arrangements in several Tasmanian districts.

If these plans come to fruition, the transformation in Tasmanian school culture, and Tasmanian society more generally, will be even more dramatic than the education and social policy transformation the state has seen over the last ten years.