Iowa High Schools Fail To Protect LGBT Students From Abuse
New Study Shows Anti-Gay Harassment the Rule, Not the Exception, Says Iowa Pride Network

Des Moines, IA – November 14 – The majority of Iowa's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students feel unsafe in their schools and face verbal and physical harassment or assault daily, according to a study released today by the Iowa Pride Network, or prideNet.

The survey reports the direct relationship between in-school victimization, grade-point averages (GPAs) and the college aspirations of LGBT students. Speaking at the capitol press conference, Ryan Roemerman, Director of the Iowa Pride Network detailed the study’s findings. "LGBT students are harassed daily in Iowa schools and as a result these students often times have lower GPA's and are less likely to want to go to college than non-harassed students."

Key findings from the 2005 Iowa Pride Network School Climate Survey include:
Iowa's LGBT students feel unsafe in school and face verbal and physical harassment or assault daily:

• 92.3% of LGBT students in Iowa reported hearing homophobic remarks frequently in their schools.
• 83.3% of LGBT students report being verbally harassed because of their sexual orientation.
• 61.2% of students do not feel safe at school because of their sexual orientation.
• 59.2% of LGBT students reported some incident of having their property stolen or deliberately damaged, such as their car, clothing or books.
• 33.6% of Iowa LGBT students reported some incident of physical harassment (being pushed or shoved) because of their sexual orientation; while nearly 18% (17.8) of students reported some incident of physical assault (being punched, kicked or injured with a weapon) because of their sexual orientation or gender expression.
Iowa schools are unprepared and unresponsive when it comes to helping their LGBT students:
• 58.4% of students reported that their schools had no protective school policies or procedures regarding harassment and assault based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
• 74.8% of students report that faculty never or rarely intervene when homophobic remarks are made in their presence.

"These numbers clearly indicate that a majority of Iowa schools are failing when it comes to providing safe learning environments for LGBT students. Violence and harassment continue to be the rule, not the exception" stated Roemerman.

Also speaking at the press conference was Amber Johnson, a senior at Lewis Central High School, in Council Bluffs. "I don’t want to pretend to be someone that I'm not, just to get the basic rights and treatment that my peers do. I don’t want to feel isolated. I don't want to feel afraid. And I don't want to be treated differently from other students."

Tyler Moors, a junior at Carlisle High School stated that, "Its tough going through life knowing you’re different and afraid to say you are for fear of harassment. I know that's why I waited so long to come out," adding that, "Students should be able to go to school and focus on studies without having to hear remarks made about them just because they are LGBT."

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