Irish Examiner view: Pride needs to start early in our schools

New relationship and sexuality education guidelines have never been more needed

 Aoife Foster, age 15 from Tallaght, one of the Foróige members who attended the Shine With Pride mural in collaboration with SUBSET. Photograph: Leon Farrell/Photocall

The photographs from the unveiling of the ‘Shine with Pride’ mural on Camden Row in Dublin were colourful and celebratory. That is just how it should be as LGBTI+ young people from across Ireland engaged in a collaboration between artist collective Subset and Foróige to share their lived experiences of growing up in Ireland.

Foróige chief executive Seán Campbell said the mural, which marks Pride month, was a striking and powerful artwork showing the progress we, as a nation, have made in supporting LGBTI+ young people.

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A lot more progress needs to be made, however — as recent homophobic incidents in Dublin and Waterford illustrate all too starkly. In Dublin, hateful graffiti was daubed on a wall near the famous PantiBar on Capel St, while, in Waterford, a series of deeply offensive homophobic posters were put up on a number of the city’s buildings. That comes shortly after flags celebrating Pride were burned and cut down outside Waterford City Council’s office.

We need to start talking about homophobia, and we need to start doing so in our schools before ignorance and hatred take hold. The State’s failure to do that adequately was highlighted earlier this month when a number of parents felt they had to take it upon themselves to object to Flourish, the relationships and sexuality programme developed by the Irish Bishops’ Conference for primary schools.

New relationship and sexuality education guidelines are being developed by the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment. They have never been more urgently needed.