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A group is calling for action on tackling homophobic bullying, which is believed to blight 75 per cent of the borough's schools.

Richmond Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) group - set up to give a voice to the LGBT community concerned about homophobia in the borough - has asked the council to address homophobic bullying in schools, much of which police said goes unreported, at its annual meeting last week.

Guest speaker Sue Sander, who is a gay activist and author, spoke about equality in education and said that 75 per cent of LGBT school students faced homophobic bullying. She suggested the borough looked at ways to combat the problem.

The police management information unit said there were four homophobic attacks in the borough between April 2007 and March 2008, but none reported in schools.

Councillor Sir David Williams, cabinet member for community safety, neighbourhood and the voluntary sector, attended the meeting and said afterwards he suspected homophobic bullying was a hidden problem.

He said: "This is an area of discrimination that we must at least tackle and is part of a bigger bullying problem in schools that we need to neutralise."

He added that although he did not yet know how big the problem was in Richmond, he took the challenge of tackling the issue "very seriously".

Cabinet member for children's services Councillor Malcolm Eady said the council was currently reviewing its anti-bullying strategy for schools. He said fighting homophobic bullying would be a key element of the new strategy.

1:19pm Sunday 18th May 2008

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