Council of Europe pushes access to school for LGBTI children
Strasbourg, May 1, 2016 - In January, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe has adopted a resolution on access to school "for all children". A trending aspect is the explicit mention of LGBTI children. Commonly, it is quite taboo on the international level to discuss sexual diversity in relation to education. Another new aspect is that the Council does not only push for access, but also says this should be done by providing objective information - which is a criterion for the quality of the content of education, rather than just passive "access" to schools.
Ensure access by promoting respect and offering objective information
The relevant quote in the resolution reads:
"The Assembly therefore calls on member States to enhance their education systems in order to ensure access to quality education for all and regular class attendance until the end of the study programme. Member States should, in particular: (…) ensure access by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex children to quality education by promoting respect and inclusion of LGBTI persons and the dissemination of objective information about issues concerning sexual orientation and gender identity, and by introducing measures to address homophobic and transphobic bullying". (Paragraph 4.18)
The resolution follows several researches showing that a number of members states are not succeeding to create safe and supportive environments for a range of vulnerable students, like children from disadvantaged families, children of migrants and asylum seekers, those attending schools in rural areas and LGBTI children.
Council of Europe: human rights body
The Council of Europe is a platform of 47 European countries, including the 28 members of the European Community. The Council was founded to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Council is based on the European Convention on Human Rights which was established in 1953. Decisions by the Council are enforced by the European Court of Human Rights. However, the Parliamentary Council only has the powers to investigate, to recommend and advise.
Sources: Council of Europe, ILGA Europe Rainbow Digest