Harassment Of Lesbian And Gay Students Common

Arizona's gay and lesbian students need better protection against harassment, a national study says.
That study, titled "From Teasing to Torment: a Report on School Climate in Arizona," is the cornerstone of a local symposium that begins today on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered youth in Arizona schools.
Scholars, attorneys and community members will gather for the two-day event, said University of Arizona Associate Professor Stephen Russell, with the hope of creating progressive social policy from a foundation of academic research.
"What are the possibilities of thinking about system-level changes in schools and school policy?" Russell asked. "Having said that, there are great examples in Arizona, mostly in Tucson, of inclusive, nondiscriminatory and anti-harassment policies."
In 2004, the Tucson Unified School District adopted a policy that strictly prohibits harassment based on "real or perceived race, color, religion (creed), national origin, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or on the basis of association with others identified by these categories."
The report is authored by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, a national education network and nonprofit organization focused on school safety for gay and lesbian students. It is based on interviews with 3,450 students across the country. Released in June, the national study also focused on 12 states, including Arizona.
"Given that only half of Arizona students reported being protected by comprehensive anti-harassment policies in their schools, it is imperative that lawmakers and school officials create state-level safe-school legislation that offers explicit protection to students who are targets of bullying, harassment and assault based on personal characteristics such as sexual orientation and gender identity/expression," the report's summary and recommendation states.
The report also found that "biased language, especially homophobic and sexist remarks, were commonly heard among students and often overlooked by teachers and other school staff. Biased language was even heard from some teachers and school staff."
There were 154 respondents from Arizona. More than half identified themselves as Anglo students and more than a quarter as Latino. A majority were male students at public schools in urban or suburban areas and 9 percent identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, higher than the national average of 6 percent.
The study found fewer than half of the students surveyed reported feeling very safe at school, 44 percent reported bullying, name-calling and harassment and more than 60 percent reported peers being harassed because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, their looks or body size and gender expression.
Fifty-two percent of the surveyed students said they were protected by a comprehensive anti-harassment policy that specifically mentioned sexual orientation or gender identity. About a third of surveyed students reported hearing school personnel make sexist comments while more than 20 percent reported homophobic comments from school staffers.
Students said teachers or staffers were never or rarely present when racist or homophobic language was used, but nearly half noted that teachers and school staffers rarely or never corrected or criticized homophobic remarks made in their presence.
"Having students feel they belong in their school is an indicator of success," said Joe Kosciw, research director for the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network.
If students don't feel safe, attendance could drop, grades will suffer and aspirations will sink, Kosciw said, explaining the need for policies to establish a comfortable, safe atmosphere.
from The Arizona Daily Star

Sex Harassment Suit Hits Top Eatery

NEW YORK - A Gay former waiter at top-rated restaurant Jean Georges has served up a jolting federal lawsuit on the eatery, claiming he was subjected to extreme sexual harassment - including a forced encounter with a naked hooker at an X-rated employees' bash.
The civil suit filed by Joseph Bassani in Manhattan Federal Court claims Jean Georges became a den of debauchery during a raucous 2004 going-away party for chef de cuisine Tony DiSalvo, who singled out Bassani when a hooker hired for the event sought "a volunteer."
The naked woman allegedly "pushed [Bassani] onto the top of one of the dining room tables and began to gyrate her genitals within inches of his face," the suit states. "Bassani shut his eyes and froze waiting for the assault to end." Bassani claims he saw co-workers restrain DiSalvo's successor so the hooker could perform sex acts on him, according to the suit against the restaurant and owner Jean-Georges Vongerichten.
The Columbus Circle eatery boasts a three-star Michelin rating. A spokeswoman for Jean Georges management said she wasn't aware of the suit, adding that Bassani "left of his own accord and on good terms."
The lewd party incident was one in a string of abuses that Bassani allegedly endured while working as a waiter and senior captain from 2004 to 2006, according to the suit that seeks unspecified damages.
Bassani claims restaurant employees routinely called him a "faggot" and spread rumors that he was "dying of AIDS." He says he decided to resign after his complaints to the human resources department resulted in little disciplinary action. On Jan. 28, 2006, Bassani's last night, the restaurant maitre d' "thanked him for 'two years of his tightened sphincter' " and presented three covered plates, according to court papers.
The first plate contained a note saying the chef would cook him a special meal, but the other two revealed unwanted surprises - "a rubber vagina" and "a large banana." Bassani says he was refused a position at another major restaurant after Jean Georges' human resources rep told him he had received a poor reference.
from The New York Post

52% Of Gay Israeli Soldiers Sexually Harassed

52 percent of gay soldiers experienced some form of sexual harassment during their Israeli military service, a survey released Sunday showed.
The survey, which was carried out by a homosexual youth organization among homosexual and lesbian soldiers, found that most of the harassment was verbal.
39 percent of respondents said that their officers were also involved in the sexual harassment, and that only 20% of officers condemned such behavior.
"The survey's findings show that commanders are not aware of the subject and do not know how to ensure a secure environment for homo-lesbian soldiers who serve under their command," said Guy Shilo, the author of the survey.
The survey, which was carried out over the last several months among 329 gay and lesbian soldiers, as well as soldiers who completed their army service within the last year, did not include a margin of error.
from The Jerusalem Post