Homophobic bullying
November 24, 2009 – 9:00 am – 1:00 pm, room 3.1
Roberto Ruffilli Faculty of Political Sciences
Via Giacomo della Torre 1 – Forlì (FC)
Introduces:
Susanna Vezzadini, Professor of Criminology and Victimology, Faculty of Political Sciences "R. Ruffilli" of Forlì
Speakers:
Elena Buccoliero, sociologist, honorary judge at the Juvenile Court of Bologna
Luca Pietrantoni, psychologist, professor of Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology of Cesena
Gabriele Prati, psychologist, professor of Forensic Psychology, Faculty of Political Science "R. Ruffilli" of Forlì
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Homophobic Bullying.
Theoretical-practical manual for teachers and operators
by Gabriele Prati, Luca Pietrantoni, Elena Buccoliero, Marco Maggi
Franco Angeli Publisher
The educational practices of those who work with adolescents demonstrate how homophobic language is commonly used as a joke or to offend in the most trivial arguments, while in many school contexts the denigrating label "faggot" or "lesbian" is used to exclude those who, regardless of their sexual orientation, are perceived as different from gender expectations, configuring actual cases of homophobic bullying.
This is no small phenomenon. Scientific studies document how widespread and harmful it is for those who experience it, with consequences that—in these cases more than in other cases of repeated bullying—can lead to school dropout or suicide.
Homophobic bullying, therefore, is first and foremost a broad cultural problem. It affects children and adults, bullies, victims, and bystanders, all caught up in the same dynamic of oppression against the weakest. Countering these forms of exclusion and discrimination is particularly challenging for the adults who witness them because it requires seriously but calmly addressing topics that are still uncommon in schools, such as diversity, gender norms, love, and sexuality.
This volume aims to provide theoretical, research, and experiential foundations on which teachers, school psychologists, and educators can build their educational paths regardless of their positions, provided they share an ethical-deontological choice that aims to combat all forms of discrimination and violence, whether verbal or physical, and violations of human rights.
The text opens with a theoretical contextualization of the phenomenon and a review of national and international research on homophobic bullying. It then analyzes how the Italian press has addressed this issue through the case of Matteo, the boy who committed suicide in 2007. It then offers a theoretical and methodological reflection on preventive approaches and presents some interventions actually implemented in primary and secondary schools in specific situations.
In the final section, the reader will find a manual containing structured activities within the curriculum, educational games for educators or teachers trained in group dynamics, and, finally, questionnaires and research and evaluation forms. The book includes a CD containing the entire manual for conducting the activities and an educational video on homophobia.
Gabriele Prati, psychologist, teaches Forensic Psychology at the Faculty of Political Science at the University of Bologna. He has published Psychological First Aid in Major Emergencies and Disasters (Clueb, 2008) and Emergency Psychology (Mulino, 2009).
Luca Pietrantoni, psychologist, teaches and conducts research at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Bologna. He has published: Health Psychology (Carocci, 2001) and Emergency Psychology (Mulino, 2007), The Worst Offense: Attitudes Toward Homosexuality. New Psychological and Educational Approaches (Del Cerro, 1999).
Elena Buccoliero, sociologist, is an honorary judge at the Juvenile Court of Bologna and collaborates with the Ombudsman of the Emilia Romagna Region And Marco Maggi, an educational consultant, is a Gordon Method trainer for teachers, parents, and social and health workers. They have published together Bullying, Bullying (Franco Angeli 2005), Bullying Project (Berti, 2006), No-Bullying Kit (Berti, 2007), and Bullying in Primary School (Franco Angeli 2008).
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