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Some half-dozen students surrounded Derek Henkle, taunting him with anti-gay slurs like
"fag," "fairy" and "butt pirate". One of the students produced a rope and
urged his comrades to help him "lasso the fag," tie him behind a truck and drag him down a nearby
highway.
While school officials stood by, Derek suffered the following constant anti-gay abuse in Reno-area schools.
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In Fall 1995, at Galena High School, two boys strung a lasso around Derek's neck and threatened to drag him from their pick-up truck; months later, school officials only briefly suspended the attackers. |
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In Spring 1996, at Washoe High School, the school principal repeatedly demanded that Derek hide his sexual orientation, at one point warning, "I won't have you acting like a fag"; |
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In Fall 1996, at Wooster High School, two school police officers witnessed Derek being punched in the face six times by another student, then tried to discourage him from reporting the incident. |
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Henkle v. Gregory, et. al is now pending in United States District Court in Nevada, against the principals and administrators in the Washoe County School District who failed to ensure Derek's safety in school.
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Five of the eight recent major school shooting incidents have involved anti-gay
teasing. Charles 'Andy' Williams (left to right), who allegedly killed two at Santana High School in California, reportedly faced anti-gay taunting, as did Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, who shot 13 at Columbine High School in Littleton, Calif., and Barry Loukaitis in Moses Lake, Wash., Luke Woodham in Pearl, Miss.; and Michael Carneal in West Paducah, Ky.
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Here in Georgia, 13 year-old Josh Belluardo was fatally attacked by his 15 year-old neighbor, now serving a life sentence. The reason given by his young executioner, moments before the attack: "he's gay" and "gay people deserve to die." Although these events, along with expert
opinions, appear to create incentive for educators to lower the level of anti-gay words and conduct on campuses, most schools ignore their situation. However, recent court decisions, federal intervention and large monetary awards have begun to change educator apathy. These kids, non-heterosexual - or perceived so by their peers - have taken their fight to the courthouse.
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Massachusetts is one of the few states to compile statistics on sexual
orientation minorities. The 1999 Massachusetts Youth Risk Behavior
Survey revealed:
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Self-identified sexual minority youth comprised 5.5% of the 4,415 students in randomly selected public high schools across the state.
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They were more than twice as likely to report being in a physical fight at school in the prior year 31.5%
of sexual minority students vs. 12.9% of others.
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More than three times as likely to report having carried a weapon to school in the past month 21.5% of
sexual minority students vs. 6.5% of others.
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3 times likelier to report having been threatened or injured with a weapon at school in the past year
23.5% of sexual minority students vs. 7.8% of others.
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More often reported that they had missed school in the past month because they felt unsafe 19.1% of
sexual minority students vs. 5.6% of others.
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More Statistics | Return to Top
As the common shoolhouse slurs echo down the
hallways, few teachers or administrators react to words like, "faggot," "sissy," "queer," "lezzie," "homo," or "dyke."
Although studies and stories consistently show that these words precede and predict violence, teachers routinely fail to
intervene for fear of appearing to promote or condone homosexuality. Instead, they promote and condone homophobia,
bullying and victimization. They also allow a climate of harassment and hostility to permeate classrooms and hallways.
This research site was developed for legal practitioners interested in eliminating sexual orientation harassment & discrimination in schools. The application is national, with a view toward Georgia/Eleventh Circuit law since it was created by a future Georgia attorney. Also, since sexual harassment, as defined by Title VII, is used as the analytical framework for Title IX sexual harassment in schools, it also a good tool for understanding sexual harassment law in general.
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