Respecting Differences: Guidance on Challenging Homophobia and Promoting Fair Treatment

February 2014

A Conservatoire target for 2013-14 was to develop actions to promote good relationships between groups of students with different sexual preferences and prevent homophobia. This action was developed in response to concerns raised by members of the Equality and Diversity Committee (E&DC), particularly in schools where students are admitted at age 16.

The guidance and practical suggestions below were written by Lois Keith, Equality and Diversity Manager at the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama (CDD) and Michael Jones, Head of Finance and Operations at Central School of Ballet (CSB), using suggestions made by Amy Richardson, LAMDA, and Rose Betteridge, CSB. They are intended to be read and used by both students and staff and were approved by the E&DC in February 2014. The Committee agreed that the next stage of this work should be to ask student reps to discuss the guidelines and think about the best way to develop and promote this work in their own school or academy. This work is in progress and will be reported on during the academic year 2014-15.

Respecting Differences: Guidance on Challenging Homophobia and Promoting Fair Treatment

Introduction

Encouraging diversity and promoting equality in the staff and student bodies is at the heart of the shared values of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama and our affiliate schools.

Central to the Conservatoire’s Equality Action Plan for 2012-2015 is the belief that a diverse staff and student body brings enormous strength to what the Conservatoire does in providing performing arts training at the highest level.

Pivotal to this plan is our determination and commitment to work beyond legal compliance to ensure that staff and students achieve their full potential. An agreed action in the Conservatoire’s current Action Plan deals directly with Sexual Preference and Homophobia with the specific objective to:

Develop actions to promote good relationships between groups of students with different sexual preferences and prevent homophobia, particularly with younger students by producing:

• appropriate training materials to use with students • written guidelines

The Conservatoire is composed of a partnership of eight leading performing arts schools* with a total undergraduate population of just over 1,000 students. We are proud of our culture of tolerance and respect for difference, including sexual preference. Our affiliate schools all have staff, including staff who work at executive and senior levels, who are open and ‘out’, and this helps create a culture of respect.

Because all our affiliate schools are so small, each student is well known to staff and this intimacy encourages people to ‘be themselves’. Whilst it is important that we are not complacent about our tolerance and lack of prejudice, we can be proud of our respect for difference in both our staff and student bodies.

The size of each affiliate school also means that we are unlikely to have membership societies such as an LGBT society and other societies and policies listed by Stonewall in their ‘gay by degree’ checklist.

*The Conservatoire schools are: Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Central School of Ballet, LAMDA, London Contemporary Dance School, National Centre for Circus Arts, Northern School of Contemporary Dance, Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, RADA.

Context

Many people think that the performing arts industry and performing arts training attracts a relatively high proportion of LGBT* students and staff and are places where LGBT people feel comfortable and accepted. Surely this means that prejudice about sexual orientation and the use of homophobic language and homophobic bullying is less likely to be a problem than in other sectors and industries?

*LGBT refers to people who are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual or transgender

This may well be the case, but can we be confident that discrimination and homophobic prejudice are completely absent from the performing arts and performing arts training?

Probably not.

Are we certain that that all LGBT staff and students working or studying at a Conservatoire affiliate school are entirely confident about being open about their sexuality with their teachers and peers and are never subject to homophobic bullying?

Almost certainly not.

3 With regard to our students, here are some national statistics about young people which help explain why young gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender people might be reluctant to be confidently ‘out’ about their sexuality:

• 99% of gay young people report hearing the derogatory use of phrases such ‘that’s so gay’ or ‘you’re so gay’ at school. This is a general insult: most often used to mean something or someone is ‘rubbish’ or ‘stupid’.

• 96% gay young people hear homophobic remarks such as ‘lezza’ or ‘poof’ and these words are never used in a positive way.

• 84% of gay young people say they are distressed when they hear young people using homophobic language.

• a bad learning environment can cause mental health and other serious conditions, ranging from feelings of insecurity to serious depression. This can have a devastating impact on self-esteem.

• Attempted suicide by young gay males is reported to be 6% compared with 0.4% across all adolescent males – that’s over fifteen times higher.

Information from Stonewall

What are the benefits of addressing homophobic language and bullying?

There is currently little or no evidence to suggest that any of the staff or students at the Conservatoire and its affiliated schools are currently victims of targeted homophobic bullying or that they find it difficult to be open about their sexuality. But there are a number of areas that make the Conservatoire different to other universities, and there are many reasons for wanting to promote and strive for a fully inclusive education and working environment. These reasons include:

1. Sexual experimentation, self-discovery and homophobic bullying and inappropriate language can occur at any age but students in our dance schools often start their HE training when they are still young, some as young as 16. These students are particularly vulnerable and they need strong support from their school; both pastoral support and clear guidance about what is and is not acceptable in terms of language and behaviour from other students or staff members.

2. Hiding or being fearful about your sexuality is time consuming and stressful. We believe that our students should be able to put all their energy into developing their talent and potential to be the best

4 performers or technicians they can be. We want our students to believe in themselves and in their ability to be successful in their chosen art form. Removing any barriers that LGBT students face in achieving that success is a key part of that journey.

3. It is essential that we offer a welcoming and safe environment to all new and existing staff and students across all protected characteristics.

4. Homophobic bullying and/or inappropriate language are unacceptable. This includes intrusive questioning, deliberate isolation of an individual, ‘teasing’ and offensive messages on email, Facebook, Twitter and other social networks.

What do we need to do to make this happen? Staff and students in affiliate schools need to develop strategies to ensure that we:

• Educate staff and students on what we consider unacceptable homophobic language and explain the detrimental effect it has on everyone who hears it.

• Share these guidelines or your own with staff and students and offer staff training and development.

• Always counter the use of unacceptable language just as you would if you heard students or staff use racist, sexist or anti-Semitic language. This includes the use of clearly and intentionally homophobic language which may refer to both male and female students.

• Also counter the recent and very prominent rise in the use of the word ‘gay’ to mean ‘rubbish’, ‘pathetic’ or ‘stupid’. Phrases such as ‘you’re so gay’ or ‘that’s so gay’ may not intentionally refer to a person’s sexual orientation, but the negative association can be hurtful to LGBT students and to straight students who have gay friends and/ or family members. Use of this language needs to be tackled in the same way as any other homophobic slur. Ignoring it helps to foster an environment where being gay (and, by association, being lesbian or bi- sexual) is viewed as inferior or wrong, and is another way of making LGBT staff and students feel uncomfortable about their sexuality.

• Include statements on zero-tolerance in student handbooks and other relevant policies and be clear on the disciplinary steps that will be taken for any kind of homophobic bullying or inappropriate behaviour. Develop procedures where staff and students can report homophobic abuse of any kind and ensure that you have clear procedures to protect the confidentiality of whistle-blowers.

• Raise awareness of the importance of our commitment to LGBT equality and create opportunities for staff and students to be open about discussing LGBT issues. It’s not enough just to have a policy

5 statement in the staff and student handbooks. Being relaxed and open about supporting lesbian and gay equality (whether you are gay or straight), demonstrates to others that your school or Academy is doing something positive because it thinks it is important, not just because it is legally obliged to do so.

• Use staff and student induction and warm-up weeks to promote this work. Continue to promote it through displays and discussions throughout the year through tutorials, training and class briefings.

• Use visual displays, information leaflets, this guidance etc. to help students discuss sexuality, coming out, why homophobic attitudes and language are unacceptable and what forms homophobic bullying can take – including the abuse of social media such Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr. See below about free information from Stonewall.

• Demonstrate leadership and be confident about saying “lesbian and gay equality is important”. Talk about it in both formal and informal staff and student meetings and briefings.

• Find someone who is prepared to be your LGBT Champion - someone who can speak confidently on LGBT matters and would be happy to be approached in confidence if a student feels they need someone to turn to.

• Try to find staff or student members who are willing to be ‘Straight Allies’. A straight ally is someone who is prepared to speak up on LGBT equality and demonstrate that they are comfortable with those who have different sexual preferences and lifestyles and who wish to support this diversity.

• Identify and talk about what students think are appropriate LGBT role models – e.g. actors Alicya Eyo, Ellen Page, and Russell Tovey, Olympic diver Tom Daley, and footballers Thomas Hitzlsperger and Anton Hysen. Ask students to identity LGBT people and performers they admire.

• Consider inviting a guest speaker to help with student education and communications and/or trainer to help with staff development

• Explore ways of weaving LGBT equality into the course curriculum – lesbian actors, trans choreographers, gay professional dancers, history education etc.

• Provide other literature, display posters and leaflets to promote good practice amongst students and signpost students, particularly our younger students to information provided by Stonewall, particularly on their Youth Site.

Stonewall has produced interesting and informative guidance on tackling homophobia for students and teachers.

Their guide for teachers can be found here: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/education_for_all/quick_links/ education_resources/secondary_school_resources/9307.asp

The guide for students can be found here: http://www.stonewall.org.uk/at_school/education_for_all/quick_links/ education_resources/secondary_school_resources/9307.asp

• Alert students to the London Lesbian and Gay Switchboard (tel 0300 330 0630)

• Set realistic and measureable goals to monitor progress.

In conclusion

Our aim is not to force every student to come out as LGBT if they don’t wish to – we recognise that this is a private and individual matter. But we do want to create and nurture a safe and inclusive environment to encourage students to be open and honest about their sexuality without fear of recrimination, if they choose to. We can help achieve this by developing appropriate teaching and learning resources and methods, through engaging in targeted communication activities and by adopting zero-tolerance strategies in cases of discrimination.

But perhaps most important is to be able to demonstrate to all students that the Conservatoire is behind LGBT students and to show them – It’s OK to be Gay!

Other relevant Conservatoire Policy and Guidance Documents include:

• Equality Action Plan 2012-15 • Guidance for Supporting Trans Staff and Students • Gender Equality Scheme

For copies of these documents, please contact the Conservatoire’s Equality and Diversity Manager at [email protected] .