According to the report, four out of five countries globally do not have laws protecting young lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender, and intersex individuals from bullying. Only six United Nations member states have adopted such legislation.
The ILGA World, an international organization uniting over two thousand associations from 170 countries in defense of human rights for lesbians, gays, bisexuals, trans, and intersex people, notes that Portugal is among those six states, along with Andorra, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands, and Spain.
The organization highlights that in Portugal, the Student and School Ethics Statute includes two articles prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in educational settings. It establishes the duty and right of all students to treat each other and be treated with respect and appropriately, without violence.
The same articles also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity in educational environments.
The law on the self-determination of gender identity and expression mandates public educational authorities to implement measures in schools to combat discrimination, violence, and exclusion based on gender identity and expression, as well as sexual characteristics.
According to ILGA World, 40 United Nations member states have national laws where at least one reason for bullying is mentioned, specifically sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual characteristics.
“Of these [40], 38 have legislation against bullying regarding sexual orientation, 30 concerning gender identity, 13 for gender expression, and 14 for sexual characteristics,” the report states.
“Most jurisdictions use education or equal treatment laws and often rely on pedagogical approaches to educate aggressors and provide remedies to victims within the school system, rather than through criminal sanctions,” ILGA World critiques.
The report also notes that in 10 countries, protection is not consistent across the territory, specifically in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Italy, Mexico, South Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
It further states that in Hungary and Bulgaria, “it is unclear whether legal protections remain in place, due either to contradictions between different legislations or because jurisprudence has led to a situation of legal uncertainty.”
