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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fourth Parliament, First Session (54-1)
2018-06-20 Daily Xml
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Safe Schools

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (15:55): I rise today to speak about Safe Schools, which affects some of the most vulnerable young people in our community. Every week, hundreds of young LGBTI South Australians face bullying and prejudice simply because of who they are. They face these challenges at a particularly vulnerable time in their lives, while they are still learning about the world, about society and about themselves.

The facts are not in dispute. Report after report catalogues the increased bullying experienced by young LGBTI teenagers. Just recently, a PricewaterhouseCoopers report, published as recently as March, identified that school-aged LGBTI students were at increased risk of bullying (reported in 'The Economic Cost of Bullying in Australian Schools', PWC).

That is why education and antibullying programs specific to the LGBTI community are so important. A beyondblue survey found that 61 per cent of young LGBTI young people reported that they had experienced verbal abuse. That is six out of every 10 queer-identifying young people experiencing abuse on a regular basis. A total of 18 per cent of LGBTI young people reported suffering physical abuse. That is almost one in five young people reporting physical abuse. Those numbers are unacceptable.

beyondblue goes on to report that young LGBTI people who have suffered this abuse have higher levels of social and mental health problems than their peers. They are also at higher risk of alcohol and drug misuse, dropping out of school, homelessness, self-harm and attempted suicide associated with these reports.

The National LGBTI Health Institute reports that LGBTI young people are five times more likely to attempt suicide. Transgender Australians are 11 times more likely to attempt suicide. The facts are that 22 per cent of same gender attracted and gender diverse young people between the ages of 14 and 21 years, in this country at least, have thoughts of suicide, increasing to 30 per cent for those young people who have experienced verbal abuse and 60 per cent for those who have experienced physical abuse.

I turn now to a report published by the Centre for Disease Control in America, which recently released its Youth Risk Behaviour Survey that includes extensive surveys that span over the decade 2007-2017, tracking trends in LGBTIQ+ violence victimisation, bullying and mental health issues in ages 13 to 24. The CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health routinely monitors youth health behaviours, conducts research and evaluates innovative prevention strategies.

According to them, one-tenth of LGB students reported not attending school because of safety concerns; one-third of all LGB youth are bullied at school and are more than two times more likely to be electronically bullied than their straight peers; LGB youth are more than two times more likely to experience persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness than their straight peers; LGB youth are almost four times more likely to seriously consider attempting suicide than their straight peers; LGB youth are almost four times more likely to have made a suicide plan than their straight peers; lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are more than four times more likely to attempt suicide than their straight peers; and, LGB youth are more than four times more likely to be injured in suicide attempts than their straight peers.

Yet, this state Liberal government pretends that these findings do not require a response specific to LGBTI young people. This Marshall government's cuts to Safe Schools programs is a direct attack on our lesbian, gay and transgender youth, their families and their school communities. That is why it is completely unacceptable—completely unacceptable—that this government should desist from the funding of a proven Safe Schools program and replace it with absolutely nothing but talk.

They say they are going to replace it with a more generic, non-specific antibullying program, which by its very nature will not address the issues that are specific to lesbian, gay and trans youth. It will not go to the substance of the concerns that these kids are feeling in their day-to-day lives. I was very proud to be a member of a government that supported the antibullying program run by SHINE in this state, targeted specifically at protecting LGBTI students. That is, again, why I am so concerned that this state government has just jettisoned that part of our community that needs this government's support, and needs our community's support at a vulnerable time of their lives.

The alarming statistics I have read out into the record about the risks facing this specific group of young people demands a specifically targeted response. We as a society must do more to protect the lives and wellbeing of young LGBTI people, and so must this government. Inaction is unacceptable, and the action of this government in cutting this incredibly supportive program will hang around the neck of minister Gardner in particular and this state Marshall Liberal government for its attacks on our young LGBTI community. It is not good enough. We need to target the root causes of bullying and abuse for this specific sector of the community because other programs have not worked in the past.

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