Children Are Too Scared to Go to School Because of Transphobic Bullying

Several trans children in the UK have told VICE News that they have stopped going to school because of the transphobia and violence they experience within school classrooms and playgrounds. 

VICE News spoke to 15 children who identify as transgender and who have all withdrawn from UK secondary schools after receiving abuse from both students and teachers. While most are being homeschooled, some have not received any formal education for years. 

From classmates physically attacking them and leaving them with broken bones and teeth, to being constantly misgendered and having staff publicly mock their appearance, they all told VICE News they are now “too scared” to ever go back to school. 

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This comes as the UK Government put out delayed guidance for schools in December 2023 that advised teachers that they can block students from socially transitioning at school, misgender students, and “out” any child’s transgender status to their caregivers. Last year, VICE News exposed how this guidance was pushed back for four years and at one point “scrapped” by UK government officials. 

The guidance was released in the same week as two teenagers were found guilty of “senselessly” murdering trans teenager Brianna Ghey in a park in North West England last February. It has been labelled cruel, flawed, and unlawful. One UK barrister said “it should be torn up, thrown away, and a fresh start made.”

“We know firsthand from the young people we support how isolating and transphobic school environments can be.” said a spokesperson for Mermaids, one of the UK’s leading trans charities. “Already, 64% of trans students experience bullying at school. The new government guidance targets a vulnerable minority and is likely to exacerbate what is already an incredibly challenging environment for trans young people today.”

For some trans children, the guidance is “a step too far” when things were “already as bad as they could be.” 

Emily, a 15-year-old trans girl from Liverpool, said she received “so much” negative attention at school that teachers “gave up” on trying to stop the bullying. 

“The attacks got so bad that my teachers said they couldn’t guarantee my safety at school anymore,” she told VICE News. “I didn’t even get to go to my prom.”

“I had to leave school in the middle of Year 9. I was being beaten up by lads, and I was being punched in the genitals. There were three trans children in my school, but they all ended up leaving. I was the last to go.” 

Emily is now being homeschooled by her mother, and said she feels “safer and happier.”

“I stopped telling my friends about my attacks, because they didn’t want to be part of the situation. Eventually, they would ignore me and do anything they could to avoid me. Then they told me online that they didn’t want to hang out with me anymore.” 

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Emily’s mother Emma believes the school wanted Emily out “just because she’s a trans kid.” 

“She’s missed out on so many opportunities,” she added, “but they just weren’t willing to protect her.”

“I do want Emily to go to school,” she told VICE News. “Being homeschooled, we have to pay for every exam Emily sits—it’s not cheap. But she isn’t safe while bullies can do and say what they want to her.” 

Asked whether she would return to school if teachers promised to protect her more, Emily quickly responded, “no way, not after everything I’ve been through. All of the kids who insulted me and attacked me would still be there too.” Her mother agreed. 

As a legal requirement all UK schools must have an anti-bullying policy, which means that when incidents are reported they will be investigated by teachers. However, all of the young people we spoke to followed their school’s policy, and they were still bullied after investigations concluded. 

Newton is a 15-year-old from the East Midlands. He identifies as a trans boy, and started living as a boy in primary school, where he said “everything was fine.” However, the new government guidance proposes a complete ban on children transitioning in primary school. 

“I had to drop out two months after starting secondary school because of bullying, and I didn’t go back into education until Year 10,” he told VICE News. 

“I was so scared. I was always physically scared. The torment, the name-calling, the slurs. What people forget is that there’s the whole online 24/7 thing now too. It isn’t that you just put up with the bullying in school, it’s also online. You can’t escape it.” 

“There was a point where I’d just had enough, and I refused to go to school for one day. That turned into a month, and that turned into three years.”

Newton said the bullying involved both students and teachers. Teachers would shame him because of his trans identity, he said—especially those who knew him before he came out. 

“I couldn’t stand up for myself, and I didn’t have any friends to stand up for me,” he added. “The majority of my teachers told me to keep my head down, and to ignore it. They said that the other students weren’t transphobic, it was just banter.”

“I’ve only recently found my trans community. Now I know loads of people who are scared about being trans in school. Something needs to change.” 

Some of the young people who spoke to VICE News have been recorded by their schools as “long term sick,” meaning their caregivers won’t be fined or taken to court by local authorities for their child’s absences. However, this sick status also means officials check in on the families rarely, if at all. 

VICE News heard from six trans children who are recorded as “long term sick” but who are not sick at all—and they’ve received no formal education for at least two years. Three of these children haven’t heard from their local authority or their school for over a year. 

One of those children is Olu, 14, who identifies as non-binary. While they were initially willing to speak openly about their experiences, their parents asked for limited information to be included in this story because they are still worried about being taken to court for their child’s non-attendance of secondary school. The parents added that Olu appears to have “slipped through the cracks,” but that after Olu endured years of transphobic abuse at school they’re “not complaining at all.” 

Through tears, Olu told VICE News, “Why is the government telling teachers to make my life harder? Why does the prime minister hate me? Being Black and non-binary is tough enough without feeling like powerful adults hate me too.” 

“This guidance puts the best interests of all children first, removing any confusion about the protections that must be in place for biological sex and single-sex spaces, and making clear that safety and safeguarding for all children must always be schools’ primary concern,” Education Secretary Gillian Keegan told VICE News.

Labour MP Nadia Whittome, a vocal supporter of trans rights, told VICE News, “These young people’s testimonies are a reminder that far too often, school is already a difficult place to be trans. The government’s new harmful guidance is the last thing they need.”

Another trans young person who spoke to VICE News anonymously because of a fear of further bullying, said she’s so depressed she can barely get out of bed. She is 15 years old and should be in Year 11, the final compulsory year of school, but instead she’s being taught by an online tutor. 

“I came out in Year 8,” she told VICE News. “I was staying at my grandparents’ overnight. I messaged my mum at 1 a.m. and told her ‘I want to wear a dress.’ For some reason my mum was also up at 1 a.m., and she said, ‘OK, let’s see how this goes.’ Everything was perfect, until I had to go back to school.”

“I’ve now moved schools twice,” she said. “One time, I had a burger thrown at my head—the teachers did nothing.”

“A year ago, I stopped going. I don’t attend lessons, I don’t go to school.”

Asked whether her parents are scared of being penalised for her non-attendance, she said they fully support her decision.

“I didn’t ever really say I wanted to leave, I just stopped attending. My mum dealt with a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, but it was pretty simple. I’m able to stand my ground, I know what’s best for me, and if I was forced to go, I just wouldn’t.”

“I would walk through the school gates and feel like I wanted to disappear. I know you can’t immediately change the attitude of 600 kids, but it shouldn’t be so hard to be me. I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m a trans person, and that just makes me a bigger target. There’s not much I can do to change that.” 

All the parents VICE News spoke to said they’re concerned about what ceasing formal education will mean for their children’s futures. When asked about the Department for Education’s draft guidance, they all said teachers should ignore it and “actually help” their children.

“Instead of just supporting kids who are hurt, you need to actually stop the kids, or teachers, who are hurting them,” one said. 

“People say they’re too young to know what they are, but why would they choose this for themselves? It’s really hard to be them right now.”