who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) too often find that their schooling
and in some cases, physical or sexual assault. These abuses can cause deep and lasting harm
and curtail students’ right to education, protected under Philippine and international law.
[Senator and boxing legend] Manny Pacquiao says we’re not human. They should just let us be.
– Edgar T., an 18-year-old gay high school student in Manila, February 2017
Outside the home, schools are the primary vehicles for educating, socializing, and providing
services to young people. Schools can be difficult environments for students, regardless of their
sexual orientation or gender identity, but they are often especially unwelcoming for lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth. A lack of policies and practices that affirm and
support LGBT youth—and a failure to implement protections that do exist—means that LGBT
school, putting them at physical and psychological risk and limiting their education.
In 2001, Human Rights Watch published Hatred in the Hallways: Violence and Discrimination
against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Students in different schools. The report
documented rampant bullying and discrimination against LGBT students in schools across the
country, and urged policymakers and school officials to take concrete steps to respect and
discriminatory policies and practices that excluded them from fully participating in the school
environment. Schools impose rigid gender norms on students in a variety of ways—for example,
through gendered uniforms or dress codes, restrictions on hair length, gendered restrooms,
classes and activities that differ for boys and girls, and close scrutiny of same-sex friendships
and relationships. For example, Marisol D., a 21-year-old transgender woman, said:
When I was in high school, there was a teacher who always went around and if you had long
hair, she would call you up to the front of the class and cut your hair in front of the students.
That happened to me many times. It made me feel terrible: I cried because I saw my classmates
These policies are particularly difficult for transgender students, who are typically treated as
their sex assigned at birth rather than their gender identity. But they can also be challenging for
students who are gender non-conforming, and feel most comfortable expressing themselves or
participating in activities that the school considers inappropriate for their sex.
When students face these issues—whether in isolation or together—the school can become a
described how bullying, discrimination, exclusion and misconception caused them to lose
concentration, skip class, or seek to transfer schools—all impairing their right to education. For
the right to education to have meaning for all students—including LGBT students—teachers,
administrators, and lawmakers need to work together with LGBT advocates to ensure that
schools become safer and more inclusive places for LGBT children to learn.
Not only in the Philippines, but it is universal in the LGBT community that each individual
encounters or has encountered some sort of identity crisis—which may not be as grave as the
other—before they come to terms with themselves and the people around them. It was
reported by Inquirer.net (June 8, 2013) that a survey was conducted by the Pew Research
Center, which results made the Philippines rank 10 out of 17 countries as one of the most gay-
friendly countries because of the country’s high level of public acceptance of homosexuals.
Dr. Margarita Go Singco- Holmes, a psychologist, wrote a book entitled A Different Love: Being
a gay man in the Philippines (2005), which is composed of the mails she received from gay men
who seek advice from her regarding the problems and issues they currently face at the time.
One of the common problems of these men were about their sexuality—that they weren’t sure
what they really were and they also weren’t so sure about “coming out” to the people close to
them, such as their family and friends. These experiences could be supported through two of
these stage models, despite there being many, on the “stages” LGBT people experience during
identity formation.
Many people are guilty of discrimination against LGBT youths, whether consciously or
unconsciously. LGBT youths are faced with daily discrimination and misconception from society,
peers, family and even school teachers and administrations. The above statistics not only show
that LGBT youths lack support and guidance but also prove how much these youths are clearly
affected, in more ways than one, by discrimination. Cole (2007) mentions that there is a higher
rate of abuse, neglect, and discrimination against LGBT youths than straight youths. Most
parents would prefer their children to be straight than to be gay, and most school officials also
Cole (2007) claims that misconception and discrimination against LGBT youths can create
repression along with a deficiency in their natural growth. Discrimination also has a social and
emotional impact on them. Instead of being social individuals, LGBT youths remain in the closet
and hide. The loneliness that they bear can turn into depression which often leads to substance
abuse or even suicide. LGBT youths have greater chances of alcohol and substance abuse than
heterosexual youths (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1989, as cited in “Today’s
Gay Youth,” n.d.). Also, roughly about one third of LGBT youths have a drinking or drug problem.
Human Rights Watch (2001) interviewed some LGBT youths who say that they drink to the
point of passing out or to feel good and normal (p. 69). The lack of support from parents or
schools can possibly make them feel like there is no hope of ever living a happy life and being
Beyond the need to address multiple types of discrimination, unseen misconception and
variable effects and outcomes, literature to date has rarely made a distinction between lesbian,
gay or bisexual identities. There is evidence to suggest, however, that bisexual groups in
particular have unique experiences with discrimination and misconception — that are specific
to their bisexual identity and that differ from the experiences of lesbian women and gay men
(Balsam & Mohr, 2007; Hequembourg & Brailler, 2009). In addition to experiencing differential
treatment by heterosexuals, bisexual persons also confront prejudicial behaviors and attitudes
among lesbians and gays, or the “LGBT” community, of which bisexual groups—at least
nominally—are a part (Bostwick, 2012; Bower, Gurevich & Mathieson, 2002; Hequembourg &
Brailler, 2009). Bisexual groups are in the unfortunately unique position of confronting
discrimination, and corresponding exclusion, from within their “own” community, which likely