LGBTQ+ students face unique challenges that their cisgender, straight peers do not. A new study shows just how precarious coming out at school can be for queer kids, finding that youth who are openly LGBTQ+ face a significant increase in bullying. Among these students, bisexual girls are at heightened risk.
A report released Monday found that 14% of closeted LGBTQ+ students said they had experienced biphobic bullying in the past, but that number doubles to 28% for students who have come out to their peers. Conducted by Just Like Us, an LGBTQ+ youth advocacy group based in the United Kingdom, the study surveyed 2,934 students aged 11-18, 1,140 of whom were LGBTQ+.
It’s not just bullying that increases when students come out. LGBTQ+ students are three times more likely to experience sexual harassment than their straight, cisgender peers. Bisexual girls are at highest risk for sexual harassment, with 12% of bisexual girls reporting that they had experienced unwanted sexual touching.
This is consistent with past research showing that bisexual women are more likely to experience intimate partner violence and sexual assault, often as a result of biphobic misconceptions. Research from The Trevor Project found that more than 1 in 3 bisexual youth reported being bullied at school, while 1 in 5 bisexual youth reported being forced to have sexual intercourse.
“People often mistake someone coming out as bisexual as a sexual invitation,” Robyn Ochs, a bisexual activist, writer, and speaker told Teen Vogue in 2019. “When someone is simply sharing their identity, people think that they’re inviting them into the bedroom.”
Bisexual individuals make up a significant percentage of queer youth and are arguably the largest group under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. In a 2020 survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), bisexual people made up 75% of high school respondents who identify as LGBTQ+.
Out students also feel less safe at school. Only 57% of students who have come out at school told Just Like Us that they feel safe there, while 68% of LGBTQ+ students who have not told anyone they are queer or trans report feeling safe.
“The report makes for sombre reading and rightly calls for all of us to reflect on the significance of the challenges facing the youngest members of the LGBT+ community,” Richard Kaye, head of international public affairs and member of the EMEA Diversity & Inclusion Council at J.P. Morgan, which sponsored the report, said in a statement. “Our hope is that these findings act as a clarion call for everyone involved in the care of LGBT+ young people, particularly schools and parents, to take action.”
The report did find that all students, including those who are LGBTQ+, reported feeling safer and more comfortable at schools that had offered positive messaging about LGBTQ+ people. This finding demonstrates a need for schools to offer proactive, affirming programming in order to promote safe, welcoming, and supportive environments for all young people.
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