• News
    • Northern Ireland
    • Ireland
    • UK
    • Around The World
  • Marriage Equality NI
  • LGBT NI Network
  • Contact Us
The Gay Say
  • News
    • Northern Ireland
    • Ireland
    • UK
    • Around The World
  • Marriage Equality NI
  • LGBT NI Network
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook

  • Twitter

  • RSS

Around The World

Students worldwide participate in GLSEN’s Day of Silence to put a stop to LGBT bullying

Students worldwide participate in GLSEN’s Day of Silence to put a stop to LGBT bullying
Danny
April 17, 2015

glsen day of silence 2015 featured

Students across the world are taking a vow of silence in honour of the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s “Day of Silence”, a student-powered initiative started at the University of Virginia in 1996 to raise awareness of anti-LGBT bullying, name-calling, and harassment.

To participate, students vow to be silent for an entire school day to recognise the all-too-common silencing of LGBT youth that happens in schools across the globe on a daily basis.

A statement released by GLSEN  today read “We refuse to accept an educational landscape where a majority of students cannot focus on their studies, their hobbies, and their own well-being because they are afraid to be themselves.”

150 students participated in the inaugural event in Virginia in 1996. The following year Maria Pulzetti and classmate Jessie Gilliam, who created the cause, strategized to bring the action to other schools across the country, thus launching the National Day of Silence. In 2000, a student campaign brought the Day of Silence to GLSEN who adopted it as part of their official program.

The project has become the largest single student-led action towards creating safer schools for all, regardless of sexual orientation with over 8,000 middle schools, high schools, colleges and universities – across the USA alone – participating in 2008.

Educational Institutions generally support the cause and respect students who wish to participate but there are legalities surrounding the “right not to speak” in a classroom setting.  The Day of Silence website recommends that students consult with staff and teachers beforehand if they wish to remain silent during “instructional time” and the organisers advise students who are prompted to answer a question to do so.

The goal of the Day of Silence is to make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression. There are other ways to get involved if staying silent isn’t your thing or keeping your lips zipped up is beyond your capabilities. Many students participate by staying clear of social media all day and keeping their profiles and accounts totally silent of posts for the day.

In a Harris Interactive study of bullying in America, students said two of the top three reasons students are harassed in school include “actual or perceived sexual orientation” and “gender expression”.  For this reason GLSEN encourages LGBT students and their allies to send a clear message to their classmates that LGBT bullying is unacceptable and a serious problem that needs to be addressed in schools worldwide. In addition, the study discovered that nearly 9 out of 10 American LGBT students reported having experienced harassment at school. Students across the country participate in GLSENs Day of Silence to bring attention to this problem, to let students who experience such bullying know that they are not alone and to ask schools to take action to address the problem.

In the US, the Day of Silence has its opponents among the usual homophobic, religious and anti-LGBT groups. Some members of these organisations even go as far as to keep their children home from school on the Day of Silence to “protest” a movement seeking to keep schools safe and affirming for all students.

In 2005, the Alliance Defense Fund began sponsoring a yearly counter-protest called the Day of Truth.  Candi Cushman, an education analyst for Focus on the Family said she believes that “Events like these actually end up promoting homosexuality in public schools, and that actually creates a hostile climate for students of faith”.

For more information on how to get involved in the Day Of Silence – Click here

These organizations have officially endorsed GLSENs Days of Action.

  • Advocates for Youth
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) LGBT & AIDS Project
  • American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Eastern Missouri
  • Athlete Ally
  • Brooklyn Community Pride Center
  • Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization (BRAVO)
  • CAMBAs Project Accept LGBTQ Youth (ALY)
  • CenterLink: The Community of LGBT Centers
  • Civil Rights Memorial Center
  • El Paso Safe Schools Texas
  • Empire State Pride Agenda
  • Face to Face Health and Counseling Service
  • Familia es Familia
  • FIERCE (NYC)
  • Frameline
  • Futures Without Violence
  • Gay Youth Milwaukee
  • Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Network
  • Good As You
  • GroundSpark
  • It Gets Better Project
  • Jacksonville System of Care
  • Lambda Legal
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Community Center (NYC)
  • LGBT Bullying & Suicide Prevention
  • Lotus Rising Project
  • NAASP
  • National Association for Education of Young Children
  • National Center for Lesbian Rights
  • National Women’s Coalition Against Violence & Exploitation (NWCAVE)
  • National Runaway Switchboard
  • NOH8 Campaign
  • Not In Our Town
  • com
  • OutFront Minnesota
  • PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center
  • PFLAG National
  • Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN)
  • Point Foundation
  • Rainbow Alley – GLBT Community Center of Colorado
  • SADD
  • Safe Schools Action Network
  • Safe Schools South Florida
  • STOMP Out Bullying
  • STOPIt
  • Straight But Not Narrow
  • The LGBT Youth Space
  • Third Level Crisis Center
  • The Queer Program
  • The Trevor Project
  • Time Out Youth Center
  • World Without Hate

 

 

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
  • Share on Skype (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)

Like this:

Like Loading...

Related

Related Itemsand Straight Education Networkanti-LGBT bullyingDay of SilenceFeaturedgayglsenJessie GilliamlesbianMaria Pulzettitranstransgender
Click to add a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Around The World
April 17, 2015
Danny
Related Itemsand Straight Education Networkanti-LGBT bullyingDay of SilenceFeaturedgayglsenJessie GilliamlesbianMaria Pulzettitranstransgender

More in Around The World

  • Read More
    United Nations release fantastic IDAHOT fight song!

    The video, titled ‘Why We Fight”, brings together footage shot by activists and allies in more than 20...

    Danny May 16, 2016
  • Read More
    Breaking News: US Supreme Court rules gay marriage is legal nationwide

    Supreme Court strikes down remaining the bans on gay marriage, allowing gays and lesbians to marry in...

    Danny June 26, 2015
  • Read More
    US: Study finds most Christians support marriage equality and oppose religious freedom laws

    Ahead of the Supreme Court’s upcoming ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, a new survey has found broad popular...

    Danny June 12, 2015
  • Read More
    Westboro Baptist Church weigh in on Ireland’s historic marriage equality referendum

    The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an unaffiliated Baptist church known for its hate speech, especially hate...

    Danny May 24, 2015
  • Read More
    It’s official! Ireland Votes Yes to Marriage Equality in Landmark Referendum

    Ireland has officially become the first country to legalise same-sex marriage through a referendum.  The results of the historic...

    Danny May 23, 2015
  • Read More
    Have your cake AND eat it! Gay Cake Row: “This is direct discrimination for which there can be no justification.”

    A Christian bakery which refused to bake a marriage equality cake has been found guilty of discrimination in...

    Danny May 19, 2015
  • Read More
    Germany’s Klaus Burkart is Mr Gay World 2015

    After a week of tough challenges and a fantastic final show the 21 year old “milk technician” from Germany...

    Danny May 4, 2015
  • Read More
    Fled Zimbabwe because being gay is a “crime worse than murder”

    I am fortunate to live in Melbourne, Australia. Whilst we don’t yet have gay marriage in Australia,...

    Danny April 26, 2015
Scroll for more
Tap
  • Popular

  • Top News

  • Comments

  • Marriage Equality Northern Ireland
    One step closer to equal marriage in Northern Ireland?
    Marriage Equality NIMarch 5, 2017
  • It’s time for marriage equality in Northern Ireland #MarriageEqualityNI
    In The SpotlightMarch 1, 2017
  • #MarriageEqualityNI Thunderclap Project set to reach over 5.5 million+ people
    In The SpotlightFebruary 26, 2017
  • We need your help! #MarriageEqualityNI
    In The SpotlightFebruary 12, 2017
  • Thoughts on the Upcoming Election – Just Josh says:

    […] a little biased, being someone who one day hopes…

  • Timothy Sanford says:

    You're a dumbass for punishing these people. If Asher doesn't…

  • Jacki says:

    They're not "discriminating against ideas" you stupid git, they're discriminating…

  • Brian Bloom says:

    I didn't have to have sex to know I was…

Advertisement

Write For Us

Advertisment

The Gay Say

Login

 

About Us

 

Write For Us

 

NI Scene Guide

 

Coming Out

 

Mygayzine Archive

 

Contact Us

The Gay Say

The Gay Say is a Northern Ireland based news / entertainment platform established to support the LGBT community.

Publicising LGBT rights issues is our main priority but we also cover a wide variety of topics and stories on other aspects of life that may affect Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people around the world.

TGS provides a voice for each and every individual who wants to have their say and we encourage stimulating debate across a wide range of topics.

Login | About Us | Write For Us | NI Scene Guide | Coming Out | Mygayzine Archive | Contact Us

Latest News

  • Marriage Equality Northern Ireland
    One step closer to equal marriage in Northern Ireland?
    Marriage Equality NIMarch 5, 2017
  • It’s time for marriage equality in Northern Ireland #MarriageEqualityNI
    In The SpotlightMarch 1, 2017
  • #MarriageEqualityNI Thunderclap Project set to reach over 5.5 million+ people
    In The SpotlightFebruary 26, 2017

Common Topics

Featured northern ireland marriage equality dup ireland equal marriage gay homophobia lgbt gay marriage lesbian same sex marriage transgender belfast petition of concern lgbt rights conscience clause referendum trans asher's bakery discrimination jim wells the rainbow project Dublin edwin poots equality gay rights petition protest the gay say

© 2016 The Gay Say Powered by Evofrog

Netflix confirms fourth season of hit series Orange is the New Black
David Cameron- “I profoundly disagree with the DUP’s stance on marriage equality”
loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
%d bloggers like this: