How are schools letting down queers every day!

But there still exists a stigma around being queer, due to less awareness, traditional customs, and many more reasons. Trans-people are still considered outcasts or someone who will ask for money at signals, railways stations, or railways. The perception still hasn’t changed among most people in general.

But now as we progress, there has been a continuous slow-paced change where schools are slowly adopting the knowledge about the queer community. But unfortunately, there are significant gaps in Indian school curriculums when it comes to explaining the LGBTQ+ community. Many schools are far away from addressing it, as many teachers are least interested in actually teaching the kids, and the stigma even exists among some teachers as well, hence they actively promote discrimination and such stigma and the damage it makes is very costly and hefty in social aspects.

Such kind of increase in discrimination and stigma will just increase mental health issues, self-harm, and suicide too. This has also caused a brain drain where rich and talented people in the queer community don’t prefer to stay in India because they don’t get life the way they want. Providing comprehensive and accurate education in the schools to the students about the Queer community and its issues will actually help reduce the negative outcomes and create a much-needed inclusive society.

To address and understand these gaps in the school education system here are some ranges of topics that should be included in the curriculum:

Understanding Orientations and Gender identity:

Students need to be taught about different kinds of orientations and gender identities, and that it is very important to respect and accept all kinds of individuals, regardless of their identities

Addressing and breaking down discrimination and Stigma:

Students need to learn about how discrimination and stigma exist and why it is wrong in the case of LGBTQ+ individuals and how they combat it every day. Hence teaching about ‘how to be a good ally’ and standing against discrimination can be a good problem-solver.

Providing support at the school:

Schools are a place where students are their most time, after home. Hence schools need to take measures regarding the issues Queer students face, which can include, creative inclusive space and access to NGOs and Queer organizations.

The Cultural development:

Promoting inclusiveness in all areas of the school is a great and most impactful measure to create inclusiveness and respect for all the students for each other, regardless of who they are and what identity they hold.

Hence,

in order to promote acceptance and reduce discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, it is crucial to provide comprehensive and inclusive education about LGBTQ+ issues. By addressing the current gaps in the Indian school curriculum, we can work towards creating a more inclusive and supportive society for everyone.

Along with this, the teachers need to be trained regarding these issues too, as they are the ones dealing directly with students.

Today the 12th std sociology book has some inclusion and talks about the queer community in a positive way, paving a way for an inclusive attitude among students. Making such proper education available to young students too, will help on a very large scale, basically small role will cause a huge impact.

But if a person is queer and is facing issues that he may find difficult to deal with then here is a website that we will recommend to check where you can find relevant help and answers to your questions

https://tooshytoask.org/

They also have an app that has a portal for answering issues, so you can give it a try too.