According to a 2008 Egale Canada survey on homophobia, 70% of queer students don’t feel safe in their school.

1 in 4 gay or lesbian students are physically harassed.

Queer children and teenagers are 4 times more likely to kill themselves than straight ones.

“Kids are taught to bully,” says Ross Johnstone, Out in School’s Education Director. “There are many families who believe gays and lesbians are not equal, and they in fact demonize the gay community.”

Out In Schools, which grew out of the Vancouver Queer Film Festival, was first founded in 2004, with the aim of spreading an anti-bullying message to kids in high schools across British Columbia.

“We do 60 to 70 workshops a year all over BC reaching almost 8000 students,” says Johnstone. “We present youth-produced short films, all with an anti-homophobia message, then follow up with a discussion.”

The program aims to smash stereotypes. “We want to show gays and lesbians as doctors, as police officers, as teachers, as writers – we work to show that anybody can be anything and that we are in fact equal.”

The program started in the Lower Mainland and has grown to become supported by many districts across the province, success which Johnstone attributes to the collaborative efforts of the Vancouver School Board. “The VSB is light years ahead of most districts in the country, let alone British Columbia.”

It’s easy to assume small rural communities like 100 Mile House would be less receptive to a program like Out in Schools, but, according to Johnstone, this isn’t the case.

“Our reception is almost always positive. We find teachers and administrators are often not trained or equipped to deal with these situations, and appreciate that we come to offer help.”

Johnstone says the kids are almost always positive too, and he credits the innovative and interactive nature of their presentations. But he does admit there are some kids who occasionally take issue with what they are saying.

“The only time we hear negativity is from a student who identifies themselves as religious and fundamentally believe that homosexuality is wrong. But even then they always say they enjoyed the presentation itself.”

While never having had to deal with the threat of physical violence – he stands at 6’2” and 200 pounds – Johnstone has experienced verbal abuse. So when he hears stories from students at their presentations about their experiences with bullying, or when he receives emails afterward thanking him for his message, Johnstone admits it can be emotional. “Heartbreaking”, he says.

One student who fully understands what Out In Schools is campaigning against is 16-year-old Aaron. Slight and soft-spoken, Aaron has been openly gay for about a year, and moved to Vancouver six months ago from a small town in New Brunswick.

He’s happy now, but admits the past year has been difficult. “It was very hard at the beginning, and is still very confusing, but it’s getting easier.”

Aaron says he’s learning that it’s okay to be himself, and that he’s found a community in Vancouver that accepts him as normal. But in New Brunswick, he found fear and rejection. “Everybody was putting me down for being the way I am just because I liked something different. People were expecting me to be the way they thought I should be.”

Aaron’s experiences are an example of a larger problem – teenage bullying. There are tragic examples in recent months of kids killing themselves due to bullying over their sexual orientation. A wave of emotion has prompted calls for the end of bullying from celebrities and politicians, and has resulted in rallies, “purple shirt” days, and high school anti-bullying flash mobs, including one at Oakridge Centre on January 27, 2011. They all attempt to make struggling youth believe “It Gets Better”.

When a queer teen is bullied at school, they experience unwanted attention over their perceived difference. As traumatizing as that situation can be, Johnstone is quick to point out that not being noticed at all can be just as damaging.

“Being invisible at school is as bad as being bullied. When you are closeted at school, you miss out on all the teenage stuff, and you lack the necessary self-confidence to become a successful adult. And this is when we hear the stories of gay teens abusing substances and committing suicide.”

At his school in New Brunswick, Aaron, along with a handful of friends, started a gay-straight alliance group. One of their first events was a “Day of Silence”.

“We all wore yellow and refused to talk for the whole day,” he says. “We communicated with our teachers by using signs on our chests. We did this to support youth who are silenced because they are gay.”

But Aaron doesn’t feel the need to start a GSA at his Vancouver school. He describes it as an alternative institution for students who don’t feel accepted or comfortable in regular schools. He says students are expected to welcome each other regardless of differences. Aaron’s father believes his son is far better off in Vancouver than he was in New Brunswick. “I don’t have a fear of him being bullied at school here,” he says. “Aaron gets far more support at his school here than ever before.”

Aaron’s father believes that continuing education is the way to stop teenage bullying. “We need people talking out against bullying. This isn’t a gay right – this is a human right. Everyone needs to learn that we are all human, and have the right to be treated with respect.”

Out in Schools is a program that continues education. And like all programs, they work to effect long-lasting change. But how does Out in Schools measure the impact of their program? Johnstone says it comes down to one thing – visibility. “Out in Schools measures our impact by the visibility of queer resources and issues at schools. We want teachers to include historically significant LGBT events in their curriculum. Make available to teachers and students useful queer resources to help deal with their problems. Have anti-bullying posters on the walls and create friendly and inclusive spaces.”

To this end, the program runs a yearly public service announcement competition designed to encourage students to film a short PSA and submit it to Out in Schools. They promote this campaign at each workshop by asking one question:

“How would your film change the world?”

Ross Johnstone wants to know. And he wants to help.