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A Speech On The Discrimination Among LGBT Students in The Philippines

Schools should be safe spaces for all students, but LGBT students in the Philippines often face bullying, discrimination, lack of resources, and even assault due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. This violates their right to education. While the Department of Education and Congress have enacted anti-bullying policies, they have not been adequately enforced. As a result, many LGBT students continue to experience harassment from peers and teachers without effective support. When left unaddressed, this hostile environment can negatively impact students' academic performance and mental well-being. For true equality and acceptance to be achieved, a shift in culture is needed so that all people, regardless of sexuality, are treated with compassion and respect.

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Ruzel Imperial Sebalda
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74 views1 page

A Speech On The Discrimination Among LGBT Students in The Philippines

Schools should be safe spaces for all students, but LGBT students in the Philippines often face bullying, discrimination, lack of resources, and even assault due to their sexual orientation or gender identity. This violates their right to education. While the Department of Education and Congress have enacted anti-bullying policies, they have not been adequately enforced. As a result, many LGBT students continue to experience harassment from peers and teachers without effective support. When left unaddressed, this hostile environment can negatively impact students' academic performance and mental well-being. For true equality and acceptance to be achieved, a shift in culture is needed so that all people, regardless of sexuality, are treated with compassion and respect.

Uploaded by

Ruzel Imperial Sebalda
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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“Just Let Us Be”

A Speech on the discrimination among LGBT Students in the Philippines

Schools should be a safe place for everyone. But in the Philippines, students who come out as a
lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) find too often that their schooling experience is marred by
bullying, discrimination, lack of access to LGBT-related information, 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.

In recent years, lawmakers and school administrators in the Philippines have recognized that
bullying of LGBT youth is a serious problem, and designed interventions to address it. In 2012, the
Department of Education (DepEd), which oversees primary and secondary schools, enacted a Child
Protection Policy designed to address bullying and discrimination in schools, including on the basis of
sexual orientation and gender identity. The following year, Congress passed the Anti-Bullying Law of
2013, with implementing rules and regulations that enumerate sexual orientation and gender identity as
prohibited grounds for bullying and harassment.

The adoption of these policies sends a strong signal that bullying and discrimination are
unacceptable and should not be tolerated in educational institutions. But these policies, while strong on
paper, have not been adequately enforced. In the absence of effective implementation and monitoring,
many LGBT youth continue to experience bullying and harassment in school. The adverse treatment
they experience from peers and teachers is compounded by discriminatory policies that stigmatize and
disadvantage LGBT students and by the lack of information and resources about LGBT issues available in
schools. When students face these issues—whether in isolation or together—the school can become a
difficult or hostile environment. In addition to physical and psychological injury, students described how
bullying, discrimination, and exclusion caused them to lose concentration, skip class, or seek to transfer
schools—all impairing their right to education.

Non-heterosexuals are treated differently than heterosexuals, despite our current education
system’s efforts to promote equality for all genders. They do not deserve this unfair treatment that is
evident in marriage laws, bullying, and the general attitude of our culture. Fortunately, our culture is
changing, slowly but surely, and hopefully one day lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgendered people
will have the same rights as straight people. I often get asked why I am so passionate about this topic,
and the answer to that question is because it affects me personally. I have very close relationships with
family members and friends who simply happen to be gay, and I love them just the same way that I
would if they were straight. I too, am gay. But I ask you this: Would you treat me much differently if I
were not? If one of the women in this room fell in love with a girl, would she be supported? If your
brother came out tomorrow, in the years ahead would you support his desire to get married to his
boyfriend? Would you treat us as equals with everyone else and accept us for who we are? The only way
for homophobia and the opposition of rights for non-heterosexuals to stop is if you can answer these
questions with true compassion, and with the understanding that everyone, no matter their sexuality,
deserves to be loved and respected.

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