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An Irish School Stopped an Anti-Homophobic Workshop Because It Didn't Include 'Both Sides'

Maybe the Dublin school should have invited some gay-bashers to balance things out.

A school with a rainbow over it. Photo by via Wikimedia Commons.

This article originally appeared on VICE UK.

Is bullying people for being gay fair enough? In Ireland, in 2015, this is still a bit of a head-scratcher, apparently. This week, an Irish school cancelled an anti-homophobic bullying workshop because people who think homophobic bullying is A-OK weren't invited to enlighten children with their side of this hotly contested moral maze.

Shout Out, a group that provided training to combat homophobic bullying, claim their workshop leader was told the school had decided that "both sides of the argument should be given," and so the workshop wasn't allowed to go ahead. The school's board of management then issued a statement saying that parents sent letters "outlining their concerns regarding the workshop."

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Some of the pupils protested by wearing rainbow badges to school the next day, which is pretty great. But the real issue of Ireland's twisted relationship with sex education remains. The media storm currently surrounding the controversy is part of the typically reactive mesh that has dangerously defined sex ed in Ireland. Irish policy making on this issue continues to follow the mantra, "whoever shouts the loudest," often at the expense of rational logic.

The school in question, Colaiste Eoin in Dublin, has been lambasted as a backward institution. It is seen as actively promoting a "closeted" homophobic agenda while denying vulnerable students access to vital services. But the school is just a tiny player in a society that is silencing much needed voices in a changing society.

In its public statement, Colaiste Eoin management references its Catholic School status as a reason for the workshop cancellation. This excuse is unsurprising. In Ireland Catholic schools are the norm, with the church running 3,000 out of the 3,200 primary schools and a decent chunk of the country's secondary schools. So it's pretty normal to see "Catholic" stamped all over any panicked statement issued by an Irish school when asked to clarify their position on sex ed.

Dr. Leslie Sherlock is Ireland's leading sex educator, she sees Irish sex education as a by-product of the fallout of British rule, when large parts of Irish society were given over to the Church to run.

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"This is a post-colonial remnant," she said. "Ireland handed over its health and education services to the Catholic church after Irish independence so Catholic-managed schools go way back. The issue here is society has changed in a marked way, so schools need to catch up with that."

Most Irish schools operate under the loose banner of "Catholic ethos," which varies in intensity from school to school, depending on the management. Sherlock feels this ad hoc arrangement has put teachers in a confusing position when it comes teaching to sex ed. "There are no written guidelines as to what exactly a 'Catholic ethos' is," she said. "It's arbitrary and confusing. Policies and laws are often interpreted from a position of fear which can be the default reaction when it comes to teaching other people's kids about sex."

If a school is Catholic, discussions on condoms, the pill, LGBT topics, masturbation, and pornography should technically be off limits as they fall foul of the Church's doctrine. In fact, if you are a gay teacher in Ireland, under current legislation you can be fired for not fitting the ideal Catholic mold.

But 21st Century Ireland is not a theocracy and this is reflected in the country's sexual practices. People are having sex younger and we are failing to prepare them for the fallout. Alarmingly, out of the 3,045 cases of chlamydia reported in the first half of 2013, ten were people aged 14 and under and 371 were teenagers between 15 and 19. Add to this the 81 cases of gonorrhoea found in people aged between 15 and 19 and for a small island you have a big problem with sexual education. A poll carried out by condom manufacturer Durex said over half of Irish school leavers receive no formal sex education. That's great when you consider Ireland still has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Europe. We expect teenagers to just know stuff, or not have sex with each other, and it's a risky business. LGBT students are particularly vulnerable as the Catholic system is not set up to accommodate their needs.

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Sherlock explained: "The Irish school system is set up to separate boys and girls, it's totally heteronormative and the idea is 'to stop them from temptation.' But this idea itself can foster a homophobic vibe. Then there's the curriculum, which doesn't reflect gay lifestyles so kids, well you know, they're already placed in a context that upholds gay bullying. Kids turn to self-harm, drugs, or alcohol to help them cope. Our school system tells kids, 'Don't come out until college.'"

Ireland's special relationship with the Church as outlined in the constitution is one thing, but the actions of secular institutions recently have been a further blow for LGBT rights. Last year a ruling by the Broadcast Authority of Ireland (BAI) said that if anyone wants to talk on Irish radio in favor of marriage equality, the program must also feature someone speaking against it.

This bizarre ruling gives an insight into why Coláiste Eoin initially toed the "both sides of the argument" line after abruptly canceling Shout Out's workshop. The BAI ruling has become a safe place for those uncomfortable with gay rights to retreat to when challenged on homophobic behavior.

Panti Bliss's speech

If you want to kick up a stink about it, you're out of luck. In Ireland—if you call someone continuously spouting homophobic crap a "homophobe" you can get sued. It's a process described in a speech by rag-queen and gay rights activist Panti Bliss, hailed as one of the best gay rights monologues in decades. Panti called it a "spectacular and neat Orwellian trick, because now it turns out that gay people are not the victims of homophobia, homophobes are."

The Colaiste Eoin story highlights how LGBT students are fighting two lines of aggression. The governments failure to finally break Catholic influence in schools has let them down terribly, and our secular media and lawmakers have—through their cowardice—created a playground for homophobic bullies.

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