A teacher from Melbourne’s south-west is demanding free education after a school barred her from the school for being a lesbian.
Key points:Melbourne’s north-west district, the district’s largest, has been criticised by parents for failing to provide equal opportunity for all studentsIn June, a school in the area was shut down for failing an anti-bullying taskforceThe school’s principal has resignedThe school, which has more than 600 students, says the ban was imposed by administrators on the basis of bullyingThe teacher has refused to leave the school, saying it was a “private school”.
But her demands have been rejected by teachers, principals, parents and community groups, and her case has sparked widespread concern about the treatment of LGBTIQ students.
The teacher, who wishes to remain anonymous, is adamant her complaint about bullying at her school will not go away and has asked to be granted a free education.
“I am extremely frustrated, I am very angry,” she said.
“It’s been quite a long time since I have been able to attend school and I can’t attend the school without a problem.”
Why should I be discriminated against?
Why should I feel unsafe and feel that I can no longer be a part of this school?
“The school principal is not providing any reason as to why they are taking this decision.”
The case comes as Victoria’s education minister, Lisa Neville, and a number of Victorian state and territory governments have begun to investigate the state’s treatment of anti-LGBTIQ students, with a Victorian inquiry due to report in early March.
Mr Neville said the issue of bullying had become an “international and growing problem”.
“I can tell you that Victoria has one of the highest levels of bullying in the country, and that is a huge issue,” he said.
The state’s schools minister, Richard Wynne, has called for a review of the state government’s anti-discrimination policies, and Mr Neville has called on the state education department to take action.
He has asked the Department of Education and Training (DET) to set up an independent taskforce to look at the issue.
“The fact is, the number of students in Victoria’s schools who are LGBTQIQ is growing by the day,” Mr Neville said.
Mr Wynne said the Victorian Government would look into the issue with the community.
“There’s a lot of work that needs to be done and I think that’s why the government has asked for this review,” he told ABC News Breakfast.
“But it is something that the community needs to understand.”
If the schools were working in an environment that reflected the community then we’d be able to get a more comprehensive view on the matter.”‘
Banned’ from school ‘by parents’While the case has attracted national attention, the teacher is not the only school in Melbourne that has faced a similar situation.
Last year, a Melbourne school was forced to close because its teachers refused to accept that students were lesbian or bisexual, and they were forced to allow students to dress in drag.”
I’ve been there for about five years and I’ve never had any problem with students or staff, and I feel that that’s really unfair to me.””
I’m really angry at my school.
I’ve been there for about five years and I’ve never had any problem with students or staff, and I feel that that’s really unfair to me.”
Mr Neville has also been criticised for the school’s failure to offer the same treatment to transgender students.
“When you see an example of an LGBTIQ student in a school, you have to be very clear that they’re not going to be allowed to go anywhere else,” he added.
“So that’s what the school did was to say to me that they don’t accept that LGBTIQ people are LGBTIQ and they are just not welcome in that school.”
And that’s absolutely untrue.
“Topics:education,happiness-and-fate,community-and/or-society,community,education,melbourne-3000,vic,melburn-2750,vic—state-parliament,government-and.govt-office,government,education-policy,schools,melbourn-4141,wa,vic