Prevención de bullying homofóbico en Quito

Abstract

Con el respaldo de la Red Ecuatoriana de Psicología por la Diversidad LGBTI (REPsiD), se conforma el proyecto LIBRES de Bullying Homofóbico, que brinda asistencia psicológica, asesoría educativa y legal, grupos de apoyo, talleres de sensibilización e investigación. En este contexto, para el desarrollo de talleres de sensibilización, se eligió el diseño de investigación-acción, que permite unir la teoría y la práctica, dando respuesta a este problema social identificado, con la hipótesis de que los asistentes a talleres de sensibilización presentan una tendencia positiva hacia la aceptación a la homosexualidad.

Homophobic bullying describes the specific type of violence directed towards people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In Ecuador, there are reports that indicate that within school contexts, 40% of interviewed have been discriminated, 24.6% have been excluded and 25.8% have suffered violence. The first investigation in Ecuador on school bullying in 2017 showed that almost 60% of students between the ages of 11 and 18 report having been victims of a violent act in school. Within this context, with the support of the Ecuadorian Network of Psychology for LGBTI Diversity, the LIBRES Homophobic Bullying Project was formed, providing psychological counseling, educational and legal advice, support groups, training and research. This report details the results from the first component of workshops, held in conjunction with the local Quito government during June 2017, with 145 adolescents during 10 two-hour play workshops of which 91% of participants considered the workshop to be successful and 94% considered the information received was useful. The scale that measures attitudes towards homosexuality will be applied three months after the workshop as a followup. It is considered that this line of research will provide useful information even for the design of public policy.