Bullying in Education

When I was at school in Scotland, I was bullied severely for being gay. I never dreamed I would EVER share my story with the world but after making a radio programme about this topic, I began to think I could do something useful to help other people who are bullied. I joined two high profile campaigns to share my bullying story and ended up on the BBC and ITV. My story was published in a document sent to the Scottish Parliament to try and persuade the government to tackle homophobia in schools.

 

"I was bullied throughout my time at high school for being gay. I was outed before I even had time to figure myself out. The bullying was all day, every day. At lunch times I would have younger kids throw food at me and shout abusive comments at me. People would occasionally follow me home shouting abuse and try to beat me up. The police were involved a few times. I had very few friends so high school was lonely.  I was made to be an outsider and felt so insecure about myself.

When I went to teachers about the abuse I was suffering, nothing was done. I was sent to a therapist and nothing happened to the bullies. By sending me to therapy, my school made me feel even more insecure, as if I was in the wrong. They pawned me off on someone else and swept it under the rug, something that happens a lot in Scottish schools. Teachers need training, they are not trained to support LGBT issues.

I made numerous attempts on my life as a teenager, my mother was the only other person who knew about it. Art club was my saviour, it gave me a place to hide and be invisible for a lunchtime. When I left school I thought, why should I be invisible? I'm great the way I am! I embraced myself and became a widely successful person recognised by the Queen, Commonwealth and more recently the House of Lords. I used my personal skills to make my life better and threw myself into the arts.

I still occasionally experience bullying in my adult life. I am still made to be this outsider and I still spend the vast majority of my time alone. I think gay equality has a long way to go here, especially in small towns, closed mindedness is such an issue. Many people believe that now gay marriage is a thing, that’s it, that’s equality achieved. That is not the case! There is a lot more to it! I recently created a radio programme for Xpress Radio Scotland about LGBT bullying in education because it is still such a major issue. I spoke to experts who agree more needs to be done to protect and inform young LGBT people."