In the wake of the important International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, we must unfortunately note that even institutions are not immune to homophobic positions. On May 17 in Trieste, the Circolo Arcobaleno Arcigay Arcilesbica, together with the Interinstitutional Group against Violence against Minors (which includes, among others, the Municipality of Trieste, the Trieste Health Services Authority, the Burlo Garofolo Children's Hospital, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Education, along with the Regional School Office for Friuli Venezia Giulia), organized a TRAINING MEETING on HOMOPHOBIA: EDUCATIONAL, SOCIAL HEALTH CONTEXTS, AND THE WORKPLACE.
All the organizations involved spread the news among their employees so they could sign up and participate. And so it was: 100 professionals (nurses, psychologists, social workers, educators, gynecologists) were able to attend the course and receive training on prevention and counteracting homophobic violence. But no teachers were present! The serious issue is that the Director of the Regional School Office, Dr. Beltrame, despite Minister Profumo's recent circular, refused to inform primary, middle, and high school teachers of the opportunity offered to them. Nothing persuaded the Director to inform the school community about this opportunity: neither the fact that the Friuli Venezia Giulia Regional School Office was among the promoters of the initiative, nor the repeated reminders from the President of the Circolo Arcobaleno. Thus, in the end, no teachers were able to attend the course and receive information, as employees of other organizations were. Why the silence? Why is there this shortsightedness that blinds us to the frequent cases of homophobia and homophobic bullying that occur in schools, which can only be addressed with adequate training on prevention and counteraction? Why does Dr. Beltrame first support an initiative and then do everything she can to prevent teachers from participating? It's difficult to answer, especially since, despite having requested a meeting, we haven't yet had the opportunity to ask her these questions. Homophobia also thrives on silence, and in this case, we regret to say, we are dealing with a case of institutional homophobia. Faced with this behavior, we cannot remain silent: we will report the incident to Minister Profumo, UNAR, Arcigay, and Arcilesbica Nazionale. We are not alone in this complaint: the Radical Association Certi Diritti and the LGBTI rights association Rete Lenford are also supporting us. Homophobia is fought by rejecting silence and indifference, by affirming the dignity of the people, institutions, and associations that work daily to combat prejudice and discrimination. Trieste, May 18, 2012
Davide Zotti, President of the Arcobaleno Circle of Arcigay and Arcilesbica Trieste