CARIMAC Times 2016: The JREAM Edition Journalists Reviving Awareness of what Matters | Page 17

Over the next year, Lee said there were no major
incidents. He became more assertive during
that period but was still not comfortable in the
school environment.
When Lee got to third form, he had to take on a
new range of courses, which included Technical
Drawing — a course that was traditionally
taught to male students. He recalled having a
teacher who showed disdain towards him and
other students who had similar ‘behaviours’.
She considered them effeminate. Lee said her
disapproval was communicated through her
gestures and facial expressions.
“She used to bully me and other people in the
class who were less inclined to be in a technical
drawing class. We weren’t manly enough for
her. She was not pleasant and would act like we
didn’t exist and [would] focus only on certain
students. She definitely had a nasty tone [in
response to] when I asked questions, and it
was like I was a bother to her.”
A year later, Lee found himself locked in the
guidance counsellor’s office after he was ‘outed’
as gay to the school population by another student
with whom he was friendly. This happened only
days away from his 15th birthday in September.
The student told everyone that Lee sent him a
number of suggestive text messages. Lee said
he recognised this as the student’s attempt to
deflect attention from himself. In spite of this,
the student body did not question the rumour.
Perception quickly became fact.
“People were banging on the [office] door
while they shouted ‘Release di [the] b-man
[homosexual]! Mek [Let] di faggot come out!’ ”

The students were not only armed with caustic
slurs to describe Lee.
Amidst the chanting, Lee thought about the
dramatic turn his day had taken: “I spent the
whole day locked in the guidance counsellor’s
room. They had sticks and stones. They wanted
to beat me,” Lee said.
In hindsight, he now regards that moment as
the catalyst for a series of events during which
he was bullied by his peers in plain sight, on
school grounds, in the care of adults. Instead
of focusing on what lesson would be taught on
any given day, he pondered what other struggles
he would have to face next.
Earl Lee is only one of many students who have
experienced bullying on the basis of perceived
sexual orientation while in school.
Jamaica’s children oppressed
In a recent study commissioned by the Child
Development Agency (CDA) titled, ‘Investigating
the Prevalence and Impact of Peer Abuse (Bullying)
on the Development of Jamaica’s Children’, it
was reported that six out of 10 students are
bullied at school. Approximately 57.6 per cent
of respondents said they were teased or called
names; 31.5 per cent noted they had been hit,
kicked or shoved; and 28.6 per cent indicated
being lied on. Meanwhile, 13.7 per cent shared
experiences of being excluded or ignored.
The study found that among the common profiles
of the victims of bullying is the description
“perceived as lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgendered (LGBT)”. This perception is
arrived at from physical appearance, behaviour
and speech.

13