Research has shown that 42 per cent of LGBT school pupils and former pupils have attempted suicide as a result of being bullied. Let that sink in for a moment: almost half.

Ten years ago, I was on track to become another statistic. Having realised that I was gay in my early years of secondary school, I began to stumble down a dark path, suffocated by my confusion, denial and inability to accept who I was. At the time, I was convinced there was only one way out.

We have uncovered high rates of bullying, self-harm and attempted suicide among LGBT young people; homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language, attitudes and behaviour are commonplace in schools

At 12 years old, I had chosen the tree that I was going to hang myself from.

My inner torment was exacerbated by the climate at my school. Homophobic slurs were commonplace, language was a major problem and it would have been inconceivable for anyone to be openly LGBT and not put themselves at risk. Homophobic bullying was endemic, yet I don’t ever remember a teacher stepping in.

“Homophobia” was a term that was ignored, despite the use of homophobic language to bully kids who appeared to be gay being one of the biggest problems plaguing the hallways.

We’ve moved on since then though, right? We have marriage equality, the mainstream media tells us that it’s “great to be gay in Scotland” and the majority of our political leaders are LGBT. Surely things are better now?

I wish that were the case. Indeed, when we launched the Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) campaign and began visiting schools across the country, even I was alarmed by how little progress seemed to have been made. There are certainly examples of good practice and we have met wonderful teachers with a passion for inclusivity - but the problem is inconsistency.

Stuck in the past

It’s been 16 years since the repeal in Scotland of Section 28 - which prohibited the “promotion” of homosexuality in school. Yet our recent research, Attitudes Towards LGBT in Scottish Education, contradicts the idea that Scotland is proudly over the rainbow, highlighting that, while wider social attitudes are changing, our education system has yet to fully catch up.

We have uncovered high rates of bullying, self-harm and attempted suicide among LGBT young people; homophobic, biphobic and transphobic language, attitudes and behaviour are commonplace in schools.

Some 90 per cent of LGBT pupils and former pupils reported experiencing homophobia, biphobia and transphobia while at school; 64 per cent told us that they had been directly bullied because of their gender identity or sexual orientation. Furthermore, despite 87 per cent of teachers telling us that they still witnessed homophobia, biphobia and transphobia in schools, 80 per cent did not feel adequately trained to address it.

These statistics are worrying on their own, but it’s the stories behind them that really highlight the damaging climate around LGBT.

A few weeks ago we delivered an assembly on LGBT issues to a school. As always, I spoke candidly about my experience of growing up gay and we had an honest conversation with pupils of all ages about the impact of abusive language and bullying.

Afterwards, it emerged that three pupils had spoken to their pastoral care lead to confide that they were struggling with their identity. One 14-year-old boy knew he was gay, but was terrified to come out - this had left him feeling suicidal for months. Another young girl admitted for the first time that she had been regularly self-harming and wanted help.

Nothing could have prepared us for one situation that was about to unfold, however. A 12-year-old boy got in touch after the assembly to ask for our help - he wasn’t sure if he was gay, but he was being bullied because other people thought he was, and he wanted to take his life as a result. He was being tormented by 19 fellow pupils, who had been sending him anonymous homophobic text messages threatening his safety and encouraging him to commit suicide.

This had been going on for more than three months. Needless to say, teachers were appalled and shaken that such horrific bullying had been happening right under their noses.

In a passing comment, which now seems incredibly pertinent, one teacher involved in dealing with the case said: “It’s a shame that there’s no option for me to record this as homophobic bullying.”

There’s no local authority requirement for the recording of homophobic, biphobic or transphobic bullying - they record race, sectarianism and other categories of bullying, but not LGBT (or disability, for that matter). This is why we’ve launched a new strand to our campaign, encouraging teachers, pupils, members of the public and elected representatives to sign a pledge supporting our call for LGBT-inclusive education in all schools.

Change of tack

Over the past year, TIE has gathered momentum and we have secured cross-party support within Holyrood, but we need to keep the pressure up to ensure decision-makers address the issues facing LGBT learners.

Steps have been taken in the past, but didn’t go far enough. In 2014, the government updated relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) guidance to include LGBT issues, but this guidance found itself lost in the wind. Most teachers told us that they had never read or even heard of RSHP, and only 9 per cent felt it was adequate. Clearly, there has to be a change of tack.

I understand in Scotland there is a culture of allowing individual schools to develop their own practice of delivery. That’s fine, but is it too radical to expect that when it comes to equality, human rights and tackling prejudice-based bullying, we go a bit further?

The way we see it, there are three major components that must be accounted for in LGBT-inclusive education: inclusion, training and monitoring. We are calling for new legislation during this Parliament to enshrine these pillars and ensure consistent delivery in every school for all young people.

If we really want to be a country where LGBT youth can be their authentic, natural selves without succumbing to self-hatred and bullying - a society underpinned by inclusivity, freedom and acceptance - then we have to start promoting those values in every single one of our schools.

Jordan Daly is co-founder of Time for Inclusive Education. He will speak at Children in Scotland’s annual conference in Cumbernauld on 2 November