00:00So moving on, the impact of the recent decisions around transgender pupils.
00:05So gender diversity exists and transgender pupils have a higher risk of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts.
00:12There was one study a number of years ago actually that showed that 43.5% of transgender people in Northern Ireland had attempted suicide.
00:21The evidence indicates very strongly that gender affirming policies and support and safety in the school setting are protective.
00:28A Department of Education survey in 2017 found that two-thirds of LGBT plus pupils didn't feel welcomed or valued at school and only 55% felt safe at school.
00:40The same survey showed that most transgender young people felt that teachers didn't understand them and four in ten transgender pupils reported inconsiderate use of their forename by staff.
00:51Some even reported transphobic remarks by teachers.
00:54Almost three-quarters said their experience at school impacted their well-being and this was in 2017 before the rise in hate crime that we've seen since 2019.
01:04So in view of this, the removal of the guidance on supporting trans young people and then the guidance that was circulated to schools is incredibly concerning.
01:11The Equality Commission highlighted significant uncertainty regarding the application of the Supreme Court legislation in Northern Ireland, so it wasn't necessary for the Department to provide this guidance.
01:23And the guidance and pronouns could be interpreted as permitting teachers to engage in behaviour that is experienced as cruel and harmful.
01:31This would certainly come under the definition of bullying, which is the repetitive, intentional hurting of one person or group by another person or group where the relationship involves a power imbalance.
01:42So bullying is harmful to mental health and that's why I'm talking about it today.
01:47In the study of LGBT pupils in Northern Ireland, some pupils refer to bully-like behaviour by teachers and in view of these risks, I'm therefore asking that the guidance should be withdrawn and that the previous guidance is put back on the website and circulated again.
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