Noticias

Asuncion, April 7th, 2015.

In order to position the universal protection of human rights as a political priority, protecting the dignity of all people, SOMOSGAY emphasizes an “Education Free of Homophobia”, with support from the European Union, the Extremadura International Agency for Cooperation and Development (AEXCID) and Fundación Triángulo (Spain), in the framework of the campaign "Paraguay with Rights: Human Paraguay", considering that education is an important foundation for children to learn about human rights, in different aspects, within the academic curricula.

In a survey conducted by SOMOSGAY, which allowed to explore knowledge, attitudes and practices of 132 workers in the education area, results showed that 60% of teachers feel with enough tools to educate LGBT people, 76% support the inclusion of a comprehensive sexuality education program that includes respect towards sexual diversity in the formal education program, and that 91% would accept an openly LGBT student.

In Paraguay, LGBT students remain targets of bullying and discrimination, being exposed at a higher risk of abuse, exclusion and persecution. Surveys in other countries demonstrate that LGBT people are 300% more vulnerable to attacks in schools. The educational spaces prove to be institutionally unprepared to solve the various forms of violence and discrimination faced by LGBT students.

Institutional homophobia and sexism disproportionately affects human development and access to education, a right enshrined in the Sixth Chapter of the National Constitution. As a direct result, LGBT students are limited with educational opportunities and all other derived therefrom, such as access to a decent work or a good quality of life.

Based on these results, SOMOSGAY will carry out various strategies aimed at education workers (professionals, teachers), as well as parents and other adult members of the educational community, in order to promote the knowledge-transfer and best practices to achieve a more equal society for all. This campaign also seeks to promote the various reporting mechanisms on child abuse and bullying that are available to students, parents and teachers, at all levels of the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Recent data suggests that over 700,000 people aged 15-24 access to education in public or private institutions, at various levels, hence the importance to ensure the full exercise of the rights that are guaranteed in our Constitution, in order to get over the terrible legacy of discrimination and violence that an authoritarian education model has left us.

Now more than ever, a culture of respect for human rights is the genuine basis to structure a society, and this is why SOMOSGAY commits itself to ensure these opportunities to keep building a more egalitarian society for all.

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