Transgender students in the USA face extremely high levels of verbal and physical abuse in school, according to a new report published by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN).

The GLSEN report ‘Harsh Realities’ surveyed 295 students aged 13-20 who identified as transgender.

89% of trans students experienced verbal harassment at school in the past year because of their sexual orientation and gender expression.

55% had been pushed or experienced other physical harassment, and 28% had been punched, kicked, injured with a weapon or suffered some other kind of physical assault in school.

Transgender students who experienced high levels of harassment were more likely to miss school because they felt unsafe, and they had lower grade point averages than those who experienced lower levels of harassment.

Schools which tolerated transphobic behaviour were also likely to tolerate homophobia: 90% of transgender students reported hearing derogatory remarks such as ‘dyke’ or ‘faggot’ in school.

Just 16% of transgender students said that school staff intervene when hearing homophobic remarks. Only 11% say that staff intervene when they hear students making negative remarks about someone’s gender expression.

School staff don’t just tolerate transphobia and homophobia in schools, many actually contribute to the harassment. 32% of transgender students heard school staff make homophobic remarks, sexist remarks (39%) or negative comments about someone’s gender expression (39%).

Unsurprisingly, the majority of students who experienced transphobia don’t complain to the school authorities. Of those that have reported incidents, only 33% believe that staff addressed the situation effectively.

“Harsh Realities demonstrates the urgent need for educators, policymakers and all who care about safe schools to address the disproportionate victimization of transgender students and to improve the knowledge and understanding of all members of the school community about issues related to gender and gender expression,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard.

“It is important to note, however, that in the face of extreme harassment, transgender students are resilient and taking the lead to bring up LGBT issues in school.”