Schools, Ministry of Education scraps anti-bullying strategy. LGBT associations: "A serious step backwards, the government must clarify."“

Bologna, June 5, 2015 – LGBT associations (Agedo, Arcigay, ArciLesbica, Association Radicale Certi Diritti, Equality Italia, Famiglie Arcobaleno, Gay Center, Mit) were called to Rome for a workshop: the Ministry of Education cancels and news is given of the scrapping of the actions to combat homophobic bullying envisaged in the Education and Instruction Axis of the UNAR Strategy. This is the disastrous outcome of the day organized by the institutions yesterday in the capital. "Yesterday afternoon in Rome," reported the spokespersons of the associations present at the meeting, "a Workshop of the Education and Instruction Axis organized by UNAR and RE.A.DY took place as part of the National strategy for preventing and combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Unfortunately, the meeting, which was intended to conclude and evaluate the actions taken, was completely negative. First and foremost, the absence of the Ministry of Education, which, in collaboration with UNAR and READY, should have implemented the measures envisaged by the Education and Instruction Axis, was particularly serious: there was no institutional representative to hold accountable for what had been done and what could be done in the future. Of the 17 measures envisaged by the Education and Instruction Axis, only one was actually implemented (the training course for senior figures held on November 26 and 27, 2014, where among 41 participants there was only one director of a Regional School Office); everything else remained on paper. For example, to name just a few: data collection and monitoring of bullying in Italian schools, training programs for school staff and students, local collaboration agreements between the Regional Office for Schools, local authorities, and LGBT associations, integration of anti-discrimination materials into school curricula with a particular focus on LGBT issues, accreditation of LGBT associations by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) as training providers, and national and local information campaigns. None of this has been achieved; the little that has been achieved (a brief reference in the Guidelines on Homophobic Bullying, the circular for May 17, and the still-pending call for projects planned for the Week Against Violence) certainly cannot be ascribed to the National Strategy and, in any case, is nothing compared to the widespread and serious phenomenon of homophobic bullying in Italian schools. But even more serious, at least from what we understand from the UNAR representative, is that the MIUR appears to have no intention of continuing the Strategy's (specific and specific) actions, but simply to propose generic actions on all forms of discrimination, without incisively addressing the problem of homophobic bullying and homophobia in schools. At this point, we really wonder what the Italian government, and Minister Giannini in particular, will report to the Council of Europe on the results of Italy's commitment to implementing the Committee of Ministers' Recommendation CM/REC (2010)5, which gave rise to the National Strategy. We hope that Parliament will hold the Minister accountable for all of this, reminding her of her duty and the commitments she has made," the associations conclude.

Agedo