Given this state of affairs, research highlighted the importance of understanding the specific challenges LGBT youth face in school and improving school climate to assure their well-being ( Russell et al., 2011 Russell and Fish, 2016). More specifically, discrimination and victimization in schools are associated with higher levels of depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation in this population ( Almeida et al., 2009 Shields et al., 2012 UNESCO, 2012 Perez-Brumer et al., 2017 Day et al., 2018 Espelage et al., 2018). Given that higher levels of social stigmatization are associated with psychological distress ( Meyer, 2003), sexual and gender minority youth are at risk for a variety of poor health and well-being related outcomes ( Marshal et al., 2011 Rosario and Schrimshaw, 2013 Olson-Kennedy, 2016 Espelage et al., 2018 Hatchel et al., 2018). Besides suffering higher levels of school-based victimization compared to heterosexual and cisgender youth ( Toomey and Russell, 2016 Day et al., 2018), LGBT students also have to deal with many tasks and challenges concerning their sexual orientation and gender identity/expression, such as absence of positive role models, lack of coping mechanisms to deal with victimization and self-acceptance, loneliness, and coming out ( Savin-Williams, 1998). Research shows that in comparison to their heterosexual and cisgender peers, LGBT youth are more likely to experience victimization, report higher rates of truancy ( Birkett et al., 2009 Day et al., 2018), have poorer academic performance ( Pearson et al., 2007), report more negative perceptions of school climate ( Swearer et al., 2008 Birkett et al., 2009 Day et al., 2018), and experience less sense of belonging to their school ( Galliher et al., 2004 Pearson et al., 2007). In fact, bullying based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity/expression has been identified as a global problem violating sexual and gender minority students’ rights and hindering their educational success ( UNESCO, 2012 Pizmony-Levy and Kosciw, 2016). School is often a hostile environment for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth ( Earnshaw et al., 2016 Kosciw et al., 2016 Pizmony-Levy and Kosciw, 2016 Russell and Fish, 2016 Toomey and Russell, 2016 Day et al., 2018 Pizmony-Levy et al., 2019). Besides inclusive laws, we suggest that the safety and the well-being of LGBTI youths in Portuguese schools depend upon others measures, such as teacher and school staff training, curricula inclusive of LGBTI diversity, and local strategies, such as Gay-Straight Alliances. Furthermore, participants also recognized a lack of LGBTI information in school curriculum and made several demands.
Most participants reported experiences of discrimination, and several sources of prejudice were identified. A thematic analysis of these answers was conducted, and four main categories were identified: (i) victimization, (ii) coming out experiences, (iii) support networks, and (iv) demands. One hundred and forty-six of them answered an open-ended question about their personal experiences. To assess the perceptions of self-identified LGBTI youth regarding their school context, a total of 663 participants (aged from 15 to 20 years old) filled in an on-line questionnaire about their school climate. However, regarding education Portugal still lacks specific policies, plans and interventions to protect LGBTI students. Portugal is one of the most egalitarian countries in Europe in terms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals’ legal rights. 5Faculty of Learning Sciences and Education, Thammasat University, Bangkok, Thailand.4Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, United States.
3ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal.