Beyond bullying: the limitations of homophobic and transphobic bullying interventions for affirming lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) equality in education

This article draws on the experience of the charity Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH) to explore the limitations of current practice around homophobic and transphobic bullying. Since 2002, EACH has worked to affirm the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people and reduce discrimination experienced due to sexuality or gender identity. The authors experience of working with LGBT young people and their schools are contextualised within the broader academic literature around homophobic and transphobic bullying. It begins with an overview of homophobic and transphobic bullying, moves on to explore three key limitations of existing approaches and concludes with suggestions for future research, policy and practice.