Report Shows Half of Queer Parents Fear Their Kids Might be Bullied Due to Having LGBTQ+ Family

A majority of queer parents surveyed in Britain for a new report say they have faced intrusive questions and remarks, with half of them fearing their children will face bullying because of their families, UK newspaper the Independent reported.

"A report by Just Like Us found that more than a third of lesbian and gay parents have been asked invasive questions such as 'strangers asking about my child's sperm donor,' with this number increasing to 39 per cent for lesbian mums," the Independent relayed.

The article also noted a failure of schools to be inclusive. "Only one in five (19%) LGBT+ parents say their child's school openly discusses LGBT+ families with pupils," one of the report's key findings said, while "A third (30%) of transgender parents have heard negative comments about trans people at school..."

According to queer parents, schools in the UK are doing a dismal job of being open and accepting to all families.

"Only 12% of LGBT+ parents say their school has LGBT+ inclusive books for pupils to read," the report relayed. "A quarter (23%) say their child's school celebrates School Diversity Week."

The lack of openness around the simple fact that not all families follow a heteronormative model left 10% of parents "feeling 'let down by my child's school not being LGBT+ inclusive,'" the key findings added. "They generally feel more let by primary schools not being inclusive."

Part of that included 48% of queer parents fearing that a non-inclusive school culture would foster bullying against children with two mothers or two fathers, with 52% worried their child would "not be accepted."

Those fears appear to be well grounded: "A quarter (23%) of lesbian and gay parents say their children have felt 'upset or hurt by negative comments at school about LGBT+ people,'" the report noted, while "a quarter (24%) say their children have been 'left out of social arrangements seemingly because they are from a LGBT+ family.'"

Meanwhile, "A third (30%) of transgender parents have heard negative comments about trans people at school," the report said. "One in 10 trans parents (11%) have decided to homeschool their children 'to avoid anti-LGBT+ prejudice.'"