Schools not letting LGBTQIA+ students to express

themselves

Schools should be letting students to express themselves especially when it comes to

their Gender Identity. The sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE)
of an individual is not protected by any national laws in the Philippines.

In recent years, policymakers and school administrators in the Philippines have

acknowledged that bullying of LGBT adolescents is a serious issue and have developed
initiatives to address it. A Child Protection Policy was implemented by the Department
of Education (DepEd), which is responsible for supervising primary and secondary
schools, in 2012 to combat bullying and discrimination in schools, including on the basis
of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Anti-Bullying Law of 2013 was ratified by
Congress the following year, and its implementing rules and regulations list sexual
orientation and gender identity as forbidden justifications for bullying and harassment.
By adopting these regulations, educational institutions are sending a clear message that
bullying and discrimination are abhorrent and should not be condoned. ( Human Rights
Watch Organization, 2017)

However, despite looking good on paper, these policies have not been properly
implemented. Many LGBT youth still encounter bullying and harassment at school in the
absence of effective implementation and monitoring.

This paper we are going to why it is important for schools to let their students who are a
part of LGBTQIA+ to express themselves and how they should be protected.

This paper aims to explain and widen your perspective on why schools should be a safe
place for students to express themselves.

The importance of educating teachers and parents about SOGIE is underscored by the
fact that some young Filipinos who do not "fit" within the "gender norms" that their
community upholds become the targets of mockery, bullying, and unfair treatment
whether it be at school, in their neighborhood, at work, or even in their own homes.

Discriminatory laws and procedures that prevented students from fully engaging in
school life worsened the mistreatment that they experienced there. Schools enforce
stringent gender norms on pupils in a number of ways, such as gendered uniforms or
clothing rules, limitations on hair length, bathrooms with separate genders, classrooms
and extracurricular activities for boys and girls, and careful monitoring of same-sex
friendships and interactions.

For transgender students, who are frequently treated as having the sex given to them at
birth rather than their gender identity, these policies are particularly challenging.
However, they can also provide difficulties for kids who identify as gender
non-conforming and choose to express themselves or engage in activities that the
school regards as unsuitable for their sex.

Letting the students to express themselves by letting them wear the clothes that
represent who they are. Letting them have a haircut or hairstyle that they feel confident
and comfortable. It is not just clothes and haircut, it is them being able to express who
they are as a person. And schools implementing school regulations about these can
help the students who are a part of LGBTQIA+ to show other students that are not a
part of the community that it is okay to let them express themselves because they are
not hurting anybody. That they are not going to be affected by it.

Schools should also implement a more sensible regulation and it is a rule that will
protect students from any harassment and bullying.

Violence based on SOGIE in educational contexts has terrible repercussions. Children's

academic achievement, general well-being, including physical and mental health, are all
significantly impacted.

If we are going to start doing these things and start implementing regulations and laws
that will protect them, maybe in the near 10 years, school will already be a safe place
for LGBTQIA+ students.

Schools should be safe for students. Implementing safety regulations and welcoming
rules for LGBTQIA+ students will benefit students not only them but also the students
who did grow up in an environment that is not accepting of people who have different
genders from them. Students will feel heard, safe, and learn about how respect and
understanding other people can make a difference.
References

hrw.org. (2017, June 21). “Just Let Us Be”: Discrimination Against LGBT Students in the

Philippines | HRW. Human Rights Watch. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from

https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/06/21/just-let-us-be/discrimination-against-lgbt-st

udents-philippines

savethechildren.org. (n.d.). WATCH: Don't be afraid to express yourself. Save the Children

Philippines. Retrieved November 10, 2022, from

https://www.savethechildren.org.ph/our-work/our-stories/story/watch-dont-be-afraid-to-ex

press-yourself/

UNESCO Office Bangkok and Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific. (2018).

School-related violence and bullying on the basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender

Identity or Expression (SOGIE): synthesis report on China, the Philippines, Thailand and

Viet Nam. UNESCO Digital Library. Retrieved November 11, 2022, from

https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000366434