NI students branded ‘bullies’ over homosexuality views

Pupils in Northern Ireland have been branded “bullies” for disagreeing with homosexual lifestyles, it has been reported.

Dr Andrew Brown of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland told Stormont’s Education Committee that an organisation held a school workshop during anti-bullying week, where sixth-form students were asked to raise their hands if they believed homosexuality was wrong. In response, those who did were told: “You’re bullies”.

Dr Brown made the comments on behalf of the Transferor Representatives’ Council, which represents church-related schools, while providing evidence about Relationships and Sexuality Education (RSE). Under Westminster-imposed changes to the subject, all post-primary children are required to learn about contraception and abortion but parents can ask to withdraw their child from such content.

‘Fearful’

He emphasised that RSE “must consider the whole person, physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually and should be taught in a way that respects the school’s ethos. Lessons should be delivered within a safe environment where students can express their personal views without fear of repercussion”.

Dr Brown highlighted that people are “scared to be able to voice their own opinions in case they are perhaps politically incorrect” or not ‘current’ in today’s society.

The representative said that lessons should not promote “a particular lifestyle”, and schools should understand that the “issues are so sensitive” with “different worldviews”.

Parents

Earlier this year, Northern Ireland’s human rights chief claimed that the parental ‘right of withdrawal’ from classes on abortion is an unhelpful ‘barrier’ to sex education.

Alyson Kilpatrick, Chief Commissioner to the publicly-funded Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, told MLAs that children have a right to this teaching, which should override the parent’s right to have their religious or philosophical views respected.

But DUP MLA David Brooks argued that the dispute appeared to be more about “empowering the state to impart its view” on contraception and abortion, rather than “about the rights of the child”.

In a consultation by the Department of Education on the teaching of these subjects in school, 74 per cent of parents indicated that their rights “should take precedence”.