THE organisers of Torbay's Gay Pride festival have written to all secondary schools to see if they have anti-homophobic bullying policies in place.
Pride Torbay, the group which organised the first gay event in the Bay, sent the letter to make sure young gay and lesbians are not bullied at school.
It coincided with Anti-Bullying Week and is backed by research from the national gay, lesbian and bisexual charity Stonewall.
The research revealed 60 per cent of young homosexuals have suffered from bullying at school.
Matt Newbury, chairman of Pride Torbay, said: "Bullying takes many forms and is always a serious and unacceptable issue.
"Homophobic bullying is almost epidemic in UK schools with 65 per cent of young lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils having experienced direct bullying and this rises to 75 per cent in faith schools.
"Abusive homophobic language is commonplace, but out of all those who have been bullied, 41 per cent have experienced physical bullying."
Cllr Anna Tolchard, Torbay Council cabinet member for children's services, said: "Torbay Council supports schools to combat bullying of any kind and we have a thorough anti-bullying policy with specific advice in dealing with homophobia.
"We welcome the initiative of Torbay Pride to raise the profile of this important issue, to help staff and students challenge homophobia in a mature and effective way."
Stonewall believes many teachers are under-equipped to tackle the problem.
Mr Newbury said the knock-on effects of homophobic bullying could be devastating.
He added: "I was bullied in school and actually changed schools because of it when I was 16.
"I would like to think things have changed, but these statistics make really sobering reading, especially when it is something which can and should be tackled.
"This is why I have written to schools on behalf of Pride Torbay, an organisation which is all about nurturing understanding and acceptance in the local community and celebrating diversity."
Cllr Tolchard added: "Torbay Council's youth service runs a youth group for gay, lesbian, transgender and young people who are questioning their sexuality, to help them build confidence and meet like minded people of their own age."
She said as part of Anti-Bullying Week, all schools in the Bay had been sent an Anti-Bullying Alliance resource pack with essential information and complementary on-line resources for pupils, parents and carers on how to tackle all forms of bullying.
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