Glasgow’s council has sent “solidarity” to councillors and staff who have faced “horrendous abuse” on social media for promoting LGBT+ inclusive work.
During the full council meeting, councillors shared personal experiences of abuse and expressed regret that “recent years have seen the debate around LGBTQ+ people and their rights become increasingly bigoted”.
And one councillor revealed that in recent weeks he had been called "a pervert, a beast, a nonce, a deviant, a groomer" and been told he “should have tried harder at killing myself”.
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A motion by the city’s education convener, Cllr Christina Cannon, SNP — amended by Labour and the Greens — was passed last week, setting an expectation that all Glasgow teachers will complete an LGBT+ training course.
The motion stated there had been “unacceptable levels of hatred and violence towards LGBTQ+ people”.
Cllr Blair Anderson, Greens, said: “I didn’t get an LGBT inclusive education, I left school just seven years ago. I didn’t know that gay people existed until I realised I was gay myself.
“I didn’t get an LGBT inclusive education so neither did anyone else in my school. Obviously I got outed, I got bullied, I got left out. I got bulimia, I got suicidal, I spent most of my teenage years trying not to kill myself because of my sexuality.”
He said he prayed “the kids who outed me weren’t going to tell my family” as his “experiences of conversion therapy, which I was going through, would have gotten so much worse”.
“Because I didn’t get an LGBT inclusive education, I also didn’t really get a childhood,” Cllr Anderson added. “Now my old school is TIE-trained, they are delivering LGBT inclusive education.
“I like to think that if I was back there right now, I wouldn’t have felt so wrong or so dirty or so sinful or so shameful. Perhaps I might even have felt a bit of pride in myself.”
He recounted abuse he has received on social media in recent weeks.
“Just over the past few weeks, I’ve been called a paedophile more times than I can count, I’ve been called a pervert, a beast, a nonce, a deviant, a groomer, a creep, a puff, he said. "I’ve been told that jail would be too good for me, I’ve been told I should have tried harder at killing myself.
“If that is the price you have to pay now for defending LGBT rights then fine, because it is all of our responsibility."
“Our responsibility to stop the normalisation of hate towards queer people, our responsibility to stand up for young LGBT people here in this city.”
Presented during Pride month, Cllr Cannon’s motion praised charity Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) for its work, which includes providing resources to schools and delivering the Scottish Government’s stage one and two LGBT professional learning courses.
There is a national expectation that all teachers participate but Cllr Cannon’s motion ensured a 100% completion rate target was set in Glasgow.
She said: “Every single young person in this city, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, deserves to learn in an environment where they are safe, respected and celebrated.”
The education convener thanked council staff, who she said had been “on the receiving end of some abuse” for promoting events, such as ALLIES 23 — Action and Learning for LGBT Inclusive Education in schools — and an annual Pride Lite event in the city chambers.
She said leaked UK Government plans, reported in The Sun, which suggested teachers will need to tell parents if their child is questioning their gender would be “particularly disastrous for young trans people who don’t deserve to be deadnamed, misgendered or have their safety put at risk”.
“Politicians at all levels have the responsibility to challenge this hatred and bigotry and not spread fear and misinformation that feeds into a right wing culture war,” she added.
Cllr Angus Millar, SNP, said political and social discourse has become “highly polarised”. “It is extremely common to see rhetoric online and elsewhere branding those that advance inclusive education as ‘paedophiles’ and spreading general moral panic about LGBT people.”
Cllr Holly Bruce, Greens, said she was seven when Section 2A — which stopped councils from intentionally promoting homosexuality — was repealed in 2000 and there was a “cultural hangover” where “schools were still silent, perhaps confused or even afraid of what to do next”.
“I only came out in my mid 20s and I truly believe this was due to the lack of visibility and exposure of bi and lesbian women who look like me, who enjoy the same things I do and who aren’t afraid of being who they are,” she said. “Leaving this up to chance, with not every parent an expert, not every parent accepting of this reality is dangerous.”
Cllr Dan Hutchison, Greens, said there is “currently the most hostile environment since I came out at 16”. “I knew that I was different when I was 11 years old,” he added. “I didn’t know how and I truly believe that I didn’t know because it was never discussed. The concept of queerness was hushed and was taboo.
“I spent five years of my key education years, confused, anxious and downright terrified. It impacted my academic progression and my relationships and my health. That to me is the importance of inclusive education.”
Cllr Eva Murray, Labour, said she started primary school “literally weeks after Section 2A was scrapped” and “blatant homophobia, transphobia and biphobia was still prominent”.
She shared a story of a teacher on a school trip who “overheard someone playing Katy Perry’s hit ‘I Kissed A Girl’ and felt the need to add in her own lyrics of ‘and it was very, very wrong’”.
Her Labour colleague, Cllr Lilith Johnstone, a secondary school teacher, who presented her group’s amendment, said teachers know their pupils and can “build on the excellent work of TIE” to ensure “the needs of individual young people are met”.
Council leader Susan Aitken said while “many articulate queer voices in this chamber should be privileged in this debate, the leadership is incredibly important”.
“I say very clearly that I stand 100% on the side of LGBTQ+ young people in our schools and indeed residents right across Glasgow and beyond.”
