One in 10 students in further education witnesses bullying based on someone’s sexual orientation every day, according to a report published today.

According to “Pride and Prejudice in Education”, almost two-thirds of students say they have witnessed bullying based on sexual orientation. The survey shows that 51 per cent of lesbian and gay students, and 59 per cent of non-binary students (who identify neither as exclusively male nor female), have experienced homophobic or transphobic name-calling.

Almost half of non-binary students have seriously considered dropping out of their course, compared with just over a third of all students.

‘Everyone should feel safe’

The report was produced by the NUS students union, the Equality Challenge Unit, the Learning and Work Institute, the Skills Funding Agency, the University and College Union and the Forum for Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Equality. It calls on universities and colleges to provide good quality training and support for staff.

Robbie Young and Fran Cowling, the NUS’ LGBT officers, said it was deeply concerning to see how widespread the bullying and harassment of students was. “Every student should feel safe while at college or university. They shouldn’t have to face name-calling and other bullying, or have to consider dropping out of their course because of the way they are treated by other students. NUS will be working with students’ unions to implement the recommendations in this report to create learning environments that are inclusive and welcoming for all LGBT students.”

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