Supporting young LGBTQ+ people is more than a choice, it’s a duty of care.

When young LGBTQ+ people don’t see themselves reflected in their curriculum, it can make them feel invalid and ‘othered’, which can impact anti-LGBT bullying among peers.

This lack of education can lead to depression, anxiety, suicide attempts and indeed homelessness, and we’ve seen first-hand young men testing positive for HIV because they weren’t taught how to practice safe sex in schools.

Not being taught about self-worth as young LGBTQ+ people can also lead to increased risk of sexual exploitation.

The backlash we’ve seen this week around LGBT inclusive education is not just frustrating, but also frightening, and threatens to take us back to the dark days of Section 28. We must work together to ensure this does not happen.

We need to support young LGBTQ+ people not just to survive, but to thrive, and an inclusive and supportive education is absolutely crucial to that.