Did you know…
- LGBTQ teens are twice as likely as their straight counterparts to experience unwanted pregnancies?
- 30% of dropouts interviewed in one survey blamed anti-LGBTQ harassment as the cause for their quitting school.
- Students whose schools have GSAs are less likely to feel unsafe because of sexual orientation or gender expression.
- Students whose schools have LGBTQ-inclusive anti-harassment policies feel safer than students in schools with no policies or generic policies that “cover all students.”
Safe Schools South Florida is committed to empowering youth through a variety of direct and indirect programs.
Each year, early in the school year, we hold a GSA leadership workshop and bring GSA presidents and vice presidents together from around the district. They are encouraged to work with other schools to share experiences and develop action plans for the year.
At the end of the school year we hold an annual GSA Membership Conference. In the 2007-2008 school year we will hold the 10th annual conference in Miami-Dade and the third annual program in Broward.
Indirectly, Safe Schools South Florida empowers youth by training educators and administrators to recognize and intervene in anti-sexual minority bullying and harassment. Ninety to 95% of our trainees say they have been able to make use of the information they learned at our workshops and have improved the environment for LGBTQ students in their classrooms. Safe Schools South Florida also works with state and regional advocacy groups to insure LGBTQ students are included in anti-harassment policies in the schools and in the districts.
Our speakers bureau also empowers youth by educating the public to be aware of and better understand the issues facing LGBTQ youth in our society. We also provide successful gay professionals who help LGBTQ students realize that there is a future for them; they can grow up and become useful and important members of society.
