Eleven-year-old Carl Joseph Walker-Hoover hung himself after enduring daily taunts at school about being gay. This child’s death is one of several middle-school aged child suicides linked to bullying this year. Carl, a junior at New Leadership Charter School in Springfield, MA, who did not identify as gay, would have turned 12 on April 17 — which, coincidentally, is the same day “hundreds of thousands of students will participate in the 13th annual National Day of Silence by taking some form of a vow of silence to bring attention to anti-LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) bullying and harassment at school” reports the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

According to GLSEN’s 2007 National School Climate Survey of more than 6,000 LGBT students, “nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT youth (86.2%) reported being verbally harassed at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, nearly half (44.1%) reported being physically harassed and about a quarter (22.1%) reported being physically assaulted.”Of the top three reasons students are most often bullied at school, two were actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender expression. “As was the case with Carl, you do not have to identify as gay to be attacked with anti-LGBT language,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “From their earliest years on the school playground, students learn to use anti-LGBT language as the ultimate weapon to degrade their peers. In many cases, schools and teachers either ignore the behavior or don’t know how to intervene.”

GLSEN recommends four approaches that schools can implement to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment.

Adopt a comprehensive anti-bullying policy that enumerates categories such as race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and gender expression/identity. Enumeration is crucial to ensure that anti-bullying policies are effective for LGBT students. Policies without enumeration are no more effective than having no policy at all when it comes to anti-LGBT bullying and harassment, according to GLSEN’s 2005 National School Climate Survey.

Require staff trainings to enable school staff to identify and address anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying and harassment effectively and in a timely manner.

Support student efforts to address anti-LGBT bullying and harassment on campus, such as the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance or participation in the National Day of Silence on April 25.

Institute age-appropriate, inclusive curricula to help students understand and respect difference within the school community and society as a whole.