Gay and Lesbian Youth Experiences of Homophobia in South African Secondary Education

In post-apartheid South Africa, the tenets of inclusivity, nondiscrimination, and tolerance are actively encouraged and legislated across all sectors of society, including education. However, in examining the coming out experiences of 18 South African gay and lesbian youth (1997-2000), it became apparent that they had all experienced discrimination, isolation, and nontolerance within their high school contexts. Due to the marginalized nature of the participants, a variety of nonpurposive sampling techniques were utilized. This article provides insights into the homophobic incidents and experiences as articulated by these sexual minority youths, namely, peer harassment, harassment inflicted by teachers and school administrators, ineffective school counsellors, avoidance, rejection and isolation, and a lack of information and curriculum in high schools for gay and lesbian youth. Implications for practice are considered in the context of South Africa's new constitution and the implementation of Curriculum 2005.