‘LGBTQ+ young people deserve to feel safe in school’

“Every young person needs to hear the message that being LGBTQIA+ is not only OK, it’s something to be celebrated,” writes Just Like US CEO Laura Mackay.

WORDS BY LAURA MACKEY, CEO OF JUST LIKE US

Most of us whose families celebrated Christmas will remember wanting a new bike, the latest toy, or the coolest trainers. But many of us in the LGBTQIA+ community will also remember wishing for those around us to understand and support who we were during the festive season and all year round.

Growing up, during the days of Section 28, I received the message loud and clear that I didn’t fit in. In secondary school, I was bullied every single day. There was no one to reach out to for support, no one to tell me that being different was a wonderful thing, so I hid instead. I grew my hair, I wore skirts, I tried to be like the other girls. I was so uncomfortable; so unhappy in hiding who I was.

Though I eventually learned to feel confident in my LGBTQIA+ identity – coming out whilst working as a teacher and now proudly leading the LGBTQIA+ young people’s charity, Just Like Us – I often wonder how life would have looked had I been supported in finding that confidence as a child. Would I have felt more positive about the future, more secure in my interests and passions, more able to learn and thrive in the classroom?

I know I’m not alone in this experience. At Just Like Us, we constantly hear people tell us: “I wish Just Like Us had been around when I was at school.” Thinking about the work we do, ensuring schools are inclusive, understanding, and supportive, it’s impossible not to think of the profound difference it could have made for us as young people.

But this Christmas, I’m thinking about the thousands of young people across the UK who still, as we reach the end of 2024, don’t have access to truly inclusive school environments.

Growing up LGBTQIA+ is still unacceptably tough. The vast majority of pupils in primary and secondary schools are still hearing homophobic language. LGBTQIA+ school pupils are twice as likely to face bullying as their non-LGBTQIA+ peers, and four times as likely to rarely or never feel close to other people.

We’re working to change this, but we need your help.

A donation to our Christmas wish appeal will help LGBTQIA+ young people feel safe, seen and supported. By supporting our work, you’ll be helping us to do much-needed work like providing free LGBTQIA+ lesson plans to schools and training more LGBTQIA+ ambassadors to share their stories in schools, inspiring hope and allowing LGBTQIA+ pupils to see someone “just like them”.

When I think about how different my experience could have been if I had had the support of Just Like Us as a young person, it fills me with both hope and urgency. I want to see a future where no LGBT+ young person has to feel the way so many of us did when we were at school. I want every young person across the UK to have the same opportunity to be proud of who they are — without fear, without shame, and without hiding. Together, we can make sure they don’t have to wait until adulthood to find the confidence and joy I finally did.

Every child wants to grow up feeling seen, loved, and understood. Every young person needs to hear the message that being LGBTQIA+ is not only OK, it’s something to be celebrated. Just Like Us needs your support to help these wishes come true.

Donate now and help us to reach more LGBTQIA+ young people across the UK.

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