Gay teachers 'must keep quiet about their sexual orientation' [Article]

ixoy

From the good old Indo:

[font=Verdana, Arial] GAY and lesbian teachers do not have the option of being open about their sexuality if they are to protect themselves against negative consequences in school, according to a new study.

It suggests that because some teachers are so preoccupied with managing aspects of their identities, they may not be able to provide a broad education.

Primary teachers interviewed for the study feared harassment from older students because of their sexual orientation.

In one case an anonymous letter was sent to the principal about a gay teacher who was living with another man. The letter claimed the gay teacher was not suitable to be teaching in junior infants.

"It undermined my confidence personally and professionally," said the denominational-school teacher. "I found it nasty, scary, that someone disliked me, hated me so much that they wanted me to actually lose my job," he added.

A number of gay and lesbian teachers were interviewed by Sandra Gowran from the Curriculum Development Unit run by Dublin City VEC for the study.

It is one of 14 published in Primary Voices: Equality, Diversity and Childhood in Irish Primary Schools, published by the Institute of Public Administration.

Some of those interviewed expressed fear that they might be wrongfully accused of paedophilia. A post-primary teacher said: "One of my biggest fears as a teacher, and I think it's unfair that I have to say as a lesbian teacher, that a child will say they are the victim of some sort of abuse from me - that's my biggest fear and I don't know how the school, the system, would back me as a person if that was exposed."

Ms Gowran argues that those in positions of power within institutions of education need to start being truthful about the "totality of the real world".

Pretty disheartenening to see they still have to worry about that old sickening myth linking homosexuality to paedophilia. It'd be interesting to see how people could justify discriminating against teachers, but then bigotry, which it is, can hardly ever be defended rationally.


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newgrange

I set up the yahoo group for GLB teachers in Ireland. The primary sector is the area where most people have problems. Until someone steps forward and tests the water as to whether they can be sacked by their Catholic managers for not living up to the catholic ethos, people will remain 'hiding'. It is more than likely that any case of dismissal would be thrown out, but until people know for sure, they are not willing to be open. So we get the terrible scenario of people living a double life.

The INTO magazine would not even print my ad telling people about the existence of our group.

Stark

That's pretty tough.

Annasopra

a lot of this is because exemptions were given to bodies under the employment equality act 1998

(4) For the purposes of ensuring the availability of nurses to
hospitals and teachers to primary schools which are under the direc-tion
or control of a body established for religious purposes or whose
objectives include the provision of services in an environment which
promotes certain religious values, and in order to maintain the
religious ethos of the hospitals or primary schools, the prohibition of
discrimination in subsection (1), in so far as it relates to discrimination
on the religion ground, shall not apply in respect of—

(a) the nomination of persons for admission to the School of
Nursing pursuant to clause 24(4)(a)or (c)of the
Adelaide Hospital Charter as substituted by paragraph
5(s) of the Health Act, 1970 (Section 76) (Adelaide and
Meath Hospital, Dublin, incorporating the National Chil-dren’s
Hospital) Order, 1996, or
(b) places in a vocational training course specified in an order
made under subsection (5).


37.—(1) A religious, educational or medical institution which is
under the direction or control of a body established for religious
purposes or whose objectives include the provision of services in an
environment which promotes certain religious values shall not be
taken to discriminate against a person for the purposes of this Part
or Part II if—
(a) it gives more favourable treatment, on the religion ground,
to an employee or a prospective employee over that per-son
where it is reasonable to do so in order to maintain
the religious ethos of the institution, or
(b) it takes action which is reasonably necessary to prevent an
employee or a prospective employee from undermining
the religious ethos of the institution.

and the equal status act 2000

An educational establishment does not discriminate under sub-section
(2) by reason only that—

where the establishment is a school providing primary or
post-primary education to students and the objective of
the school is to provide education in an environment
which promotes certain religious values, it admits persons
of a particular religious denomination in preference to
others or it refuses to admit as a student a person who is
not of that denomination and, in the case of a refusal, it
is proved that the refusal is essential to maintain the
ethos of the school,

FranknFurter

yep, somtimes these acts create more descrimination to replace what they "fix"

fozzle

But if Catholic schools (for instance) fire gay teachers because of the conflicing beliefs, doesn't that mean they should fire any teacher who is
1. living with someone outside of marriage (as a couple I mean),
2. divorced,
3. the parent of a child born out of wedlock,
etc?
That's ludacrous, I'd certainly like to think they wouldn't get away with attempting it.