Rights through alliances; findings from a European project tackling homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools through the engagement of families and young people
This paper draws on key findings from a European project ‘Rights through alliances: Innovating and networking both within homes and schools’ (RAINBOW-HAS) conducted between 2013 and 2015. RAINBOW-HAS was co-funded by the Fundamental Rights
and Citizenship programme of the EU and aimed to build collaboration between six European Union countries; Bulgaria, Belgium, Italy, Poland, Spain and the UK to analyse and improve the rights of children and youth vis-à-vis affective sexual diversity
regarding sexual orientation and gender identity in educational settings. It looked at how participating countries builds bridges and alliances between and across Europe by sharing aspects of good practice through an evidence base and drawing on the
strengths generated through learning and dialogue in the context of different contexts, legislation and policies, institution, cultures as well as socio-economic and political differences. RAINBOW-HAS brought important concepts from Europe into the individual domestic contexts through its direct engagement with young people and their families within selected local contexts. LGB parents in particular discuss their children’s experiences of bullying. They were found to be discursively and rhetorically designed
to deal with a heteronormative and gender neutral social/political context. We explore whether reports of bullying are equally if not more risky for LGB parents, given the ongoing challenges and undermining of LGB parenting and ask critical questions about
bullying by placing it in a broader political and cultural context. Thematic analysis of the qualitative interviews undertaken with a range of different families, schools and community associations (n=174) provided a snapshot of contemporary practice across
the European context. Through this approach, we identified discourses used to address discrimination and the implications for developing a more in-depth dialogue with stakeholders. This has implications for promoting family and young people’s own
engagement and in challenging homophobic and transphobic bullying and the need to question the relative silence of social work in addressing this.
European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (2013) EU LGBT Survey: European Union lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender survey: Results at a Glance. Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union
