Creating more inclusive, welcoming schools for LGBTQI+ children

I still remember, when Protsahan was barely 2 years old as an organization, a young child who was about 11 years old, had come out with her identity as a trans child to me. All she expected and needed was a safe nonjudgmental space where she could just be as she was. She was one of the most empathetic and intelligent children I've come across when I used be an educator. Thankfully N's family was extremely supportive. Her parents were construction laborers and had never attended formal schooling themselves. In spaces where marginalizations for such children are compounded, it is our responsibility as educators in the field of child protection, to ensure that every student feels safe, accepted, and valued in their school community. However, for many LGBTQI+ children, this is not always the reality. Studies have shown that LGBTQI+ students are at a higher risk of experiencing violence, bullying, harassment, and discrimination in schools. This not only harms their emotional and mental well-being, but it also negatively impacts their academic performance and overall success in school.

Creating more inclusive, welcoming schools for LGBTQI+ children is a crucial step in addressing this issue and ensuring that all students have the opportunity to thrive. Here are a few ways that educators and school leaders can work towards building more inclusive environments for LGBTQI+ students:

1. Develop and implement inclusive policies and practices: This can include implementing anti-bullying policies that specifically address LGBTQI+ bullying, providing LGBTQI+ inclusive sex education, and providing training and resources for educators on how to support LGBTQI+ students. Shying away from sex education in a country of a billion plus is plain hypocritical. We need to do and be better unto our children. At Protsahan, for eg. with the help of trained clinical and counseling psychologists we worked to draft a contextual safety charter in collaborative consultation with our grassroots leaders.
2. Create brave spaces (not just safe spaces) for LGBTQI+ students: This can include creating LGBTQI+ student clubs, offering support groups for LGBTQI+ students, and providing training and resources for students on how to create a safe and inclusive school environment.
3. Increase visibility and representation of LGBTQI+ individuals in the curriculum: This can include incorporating LGBTQI+ history and literature into the curriculum, and providing opportunities for LGBTQI+ speakers to visit and share their experiences with students.
4. Provide support for LGBTQI+ students and their families: This can include providing counseling and mental health services for LGBTQI+ students, and offering resources and support for LGBTQI+ families.
5. Invest in compassionate & patient teacher trainings: Our teachers need to be patiently trained on concepts that make them gender ‘aware’ to help them build knowledge to understand and identify patterns, perpetrators and contexts of violence. Gender inequality and violence are mutually reinforcing. We must also not forget that adolescents face gendered barriers to help-seeking, because of ingrained patriarchy as schools operate in the same society that they are a part of. Check how Protsahan's HEART model investigates this model of compassionate training even deeper.

Creating inclusive, welcoming schools for LGBTQI+ children is not only the right thing to do, it's also vital for the success and well-being of all students. By implementing these basic simplistic strategies and continuing to work towards creating inclusive environments, we can ensure that all students, including LGBTQI+ children, have the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential.

Addressing violence against children and adolescents is part of Protsahan’s core mission to protect the health and well-being of children and adolescents, grounded in gender equality programming and linkages to government schemes, especially if the child belongs to an extremely marginalized background.