Recent studies and news are showing an increase in the cases of bullying based on sexual identity and related issues
Madrid (Spain), 15 April 2016: Coming Out Campaign, a recently created workgroup against any kind of LGBTTIQphobia has started a crowdfunding campaign to raise 6,500 €. The aim is to publish a book, build a website and start necessary work at educational centers, across all levels starting as early as Primary School, and in the community to eradicate bullying or cyberbullying and other violent manifestations.
According to the study “I won’t play this game” carried out by the NGO Save the Children, presented in Spain in February 2016 and which collects bullying figures according to students across the Spanish territory, students who bully others justify their actions using, among others, the following reasons: 9.3% do so due to their victim’s race, culture or religion, while 8.6% do so based on their victim’s sexual identity and related issues.
9.3% of the students surveyed consider they have suffered bullying in the past two months. 6.9% of students consider themselves to be the victims of cyberbullying.
The reasons behind bullying are confusing. Victims mainly repeat three reasons why they are bullied: to be bothered, due to their physical appearance, or because the bully ‘has it in for them’. It should be pointed out especially that children who bully others claim not to know why they exert this type of violence on their fellow students. The second most stated reason for bullying is “playing a prank”.
Meanwhile, since January 1st 2016 there have been almost 25 reported cases of violence and aggression against gay people in Madrid alone! According to statistical estimates, only 18%-20% of cases are reported to the Police. This means there are many more cases of which we don’t know about. This is also happening in many other cities and countries all over the World.
Given the current situation, we realize that there is still much work to be done regarding the rights of the LGBTTIQ community: equal marriage, civil partnership, inheritance and other rights. More importantly, there is still much work left to be done in society to eradicate LGBTTIQphobia and any manifestation against a person’s sexual identity, regardless of where they live.
Our aim at Coming Out Campaign is to compile stories of harassment, coming out, forgiveness, courage, peace, pain and love from different points of view, compiling also the stories of families or partners to achieve an even wider perspective.
With this material, our goals are to:
1. Publish a book that presents other experiences like ours. Our aim is for these stories to become social references for present and future generations, facilitating with this the process of coming out and acceptance of oneself and from the people around us.
2. Build a website which also reflects these stories. The site will be used as a space for information and exchange between girls, boys, teenagers and young adults as well as mothers, fathers and tutors.
3. Open an interactive exchange space where LGBT issues can be addressed from different perspectives, with an educational and awareness-raising purpose.
The second part of the project, once these stories have been compiled and published, is for their protagonists to become ambassadors of this campaign: awareness grows in people by sharing stories and normalizing situations. This is a long-term project. In turn, these testimonies will serve to carry out work in schools with parents, teachers, etc. This project aspires to have a global reach.
We also want to carry out continuous actions in the field of education, from Primary Schools to Universities, in order to:
– Equip students with the tools necessary to avoid and fight harassment of any type, especially in regard to sexual identity.
– Equip teachers with an understanding of bullying and cyberbullying and techniques to detect, identify, mediate and intervene in such situations.
– Equip parents and guardians with guides to be used in the family sphere, making it possible to detect cases of harassment and eradicating them through educational activities that can be carried out at school and at home.
We also want to work closely with other persons, organizations, foundations, associations, NGOs and local institutions whose projects or programs are related to the work we wish to carry out with the Coming Out Campaign, joining forces and creating synergies.
This is why we are starting a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo (http://igg.me/at/comingoutcampaign): to raise the money that we need to achieve our goals.
You can find further information about our campaign at [www.comingoutcampaign.com.]
Name of Media Contact: Tomas Loyola Barberis
Title: Founder
Company name: Coming Out Campaign
Contact E-mail: info@comingoutcampaign.com
Campaign Page URL: [www.comingoutcampaign.com]
