By Kathy Pearson
Community groups are working together with the Ottawa-Carleton police to stop the problem of homophobia in public schools by initiating a new poster campaign.
In an effort to raise its profile in the community, the police’s Hate Crimes Division is working with local groups to launch a poster campaign to combat hate crimes and homophobia in area schools.
The poster, which was unveiled at regional headquarters last week, was designed by St. Patrick’s High School student Christina Christou.
It shows an outstretched hand in protest. “I have seen the problem of homophobia in other countries, and from what I’ve seen, Canada has come a lot farther than other places in stopping the problem,” says Christou.
Police and schools hope that the poster’s image will serve as a reminder of the need to stop homophobia and show victims there is a place to go for help.
The poster will appear in bus shelters, schools and community centres across the city.
Lisgar Collegiate Institute wants to hang the posters on its walls.
“We will encourage this kind of campaign because, although this school has a very high tolerance, there are problems like this in any environment,” says principal Angie Spence.
Dave Nurse, of Hate Crimes Division, stresses the importance of building up community partnerships in order to take on this cause.
“We want the community to be a part of the solution,” he says.
“We want to make the Hate Crimes Division visible by working together with all segments of the community on this campaign,” says PFLAG co-facilitator Dennis Stimson.
But this is only one effort to stamp out intolerance.
David Gamble, the acting vice-principal at Woodroffe High School, has been working on the issue of homophobia and youth for over 10 years.
At a recent meeting between the gay community and police, he spoke about a time he heard a student call someone a “faggot,” and how he seized the opportunity to teach tolerance by explaining the gruesome history of the word.
He says he was able to teach the student a valuable lesson by sending him back to class to lead a history lesson on what he learned.
By addressing situations like these in similar manners, and by involving and informing students about causes such as the poster campaign, Gamble says the issue can be solved from the grass roots.
He emphasizes the importance of fighting discrimination through education.
“When it comes to solving the problem, we can’t be tougher than they are, we have to be smarter,” he says.