School launches investigation after alleged threats made to students supporting LGBTQIA+ community
Monday, 13 June 2022
The Media Council has ruled that the original version of this article was unfair to Bethlehem College. The full Media Council ruling is at www.mediacouncil.org.nz.
An investigation is underway at a school in Tauranga after a group of students showing support for the LGBTQIA+ community became the alleged victims of death threats and verbal attacks.
A group of students at Bethlehem College, a state-integrated Christian school, were taking part in the international Day of Silence against bullying when they were targeted by a number of opposing students from the same college.
The abuse allegedly included chants of “kill the gays”, and students attending the event said that their phones had been confiscated so that they could not record video footage.
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Stuff understands that one of the students was injured by something thrown. The incident has been reported to police.
A parent of a student at Bethlehem College said that those taking part in the protest had received verbal death threats, “obscene heckling” and “sexual shaming” comments from other teenage students at the school.
“It is ironic that people protesting against bullying themselves become the victim of bullying,” said the parent.
In response to the allegations, Bethlehem College board of trustees chair Paul Shakes said the school immediately began an in-depth investigation into the claims, and reviewed CCTV footage as well as interviewing students.
“Some other students responding to the protest did not meet the standards of behaviour we require of our school community,” said Shakes.
“Specifically, two pieces of fruit were thrown - an apple, and a banana or part of a banana - which struck one of the protestors. We are also aware that some students made offensive comments, though we are still verifying exactly what was said.
“We don’t tolerate bullying and expect our students to act in good faith and to show civility and tolerance for differing views, and students who breached our standards will face disciplinary action.”
Bethlehem College provides Christian-based education for students from Years 1 to 13.
The annual Day of Silence is a day of action in which students across Aotearoa vow to take a form of silence to call attention to the silencing effect of homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying, name-calling and harassment in schools.
The goal of the day is to “make schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity/expression” according to its website, which also cites research which showed students in the LGBTQIA+ community were three times as likely to experience bullying at school than other children.
A well-known campaigner for queer rights, Shaneel Lal (they, them) told Stuff that young people had also contacted them about the event and said that their phones had been confiscated so that they could not record video footage. Lal also said that students were chanting “kill the gays”.
“All children have the right to be safe at school, and it is the duty of the Ministry of Education to ensure schools do that,” they said. “Clearly some children at this school are not safe when they are the target of such abuse.”
Lal, a law student, is now calling for the government to launch an independent investigation into the college, after students and former students contacted Lal at the weekend “crying out for help”.
In response, Shakes said the school’s investigation has concluded that there were no chants against the protestors, nor was there an opposition group.
“The only observers were students themselves,” he said.
“Two students’ phones were removed, however this was because their use was breaching the school’s standard ‘no phones during school hours’ policy.
“We are happy to comply with any official investigation, though we would like to see evidence that one is needed.”
Lal spearheaded the campaign that led to New Zealand banning conversion therapy earlier this year, making it a criminal offence to attempt to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
Lal has started another petition over the weekend, lobbying the Ministry of Education to investigate practices at the Bay of Plenty school.
They started the petition on their Instagram and Twitter pages after students contacted them about experiences of “sexism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism and other forms of discrimination at Bethlehem College”.
“Hundreds of people contacted me with their stories,” Lal told Stuff. “These are young people – children – and they are crying out for help.
“If a state-integrated school allows hateful abuse and bigotry under the guise of special character or religious beliefs, then there is something seriously wrong with the system and this calls for a law change. I’m sure this is not the only school where there are incidents – this is just the tip of the iceberg.”
Lal said it is encouraging that young people demonstrate a real “appetite for change”.
Shakes, however, said that while the school “respects and supports” Lal’s rights to hold and express beliefs, they asked that Lal and others respect Bethlehem College’s right to do so as well.
“Our initial reaction to Shaneel’s allegations is that they contains a lot of ‘ist’ and ‘ia’ words without much solid detail,” he said.
“To the very best of my knowledge, in the nine years I have been on the board we have never received any complaint relating to Shaneel’s claims.
“If there are people with hurts or concerns our message is to please be in touch directly so we can address them with you. As per our publicly available complaints policy, our heart and desire is to deal with complaints in an open and honest manner, exercising care to preserve relationships, grace, forgiveness and love.
“We don’t discriminate, nor do we tolerate bullying, and we teach students to understand and respect people with differing views, faiths, and backgrounds.
“We’re fully committed to providing a safe environment for everyone at Bethlehem College and we endeavour at all times to live out our beliefs in a loving and respectful manner, and encourage all our students to speak to our experienced and caring counsellors if they need any support in any area.”
Lal’s petition to the government quotes students sharing their stories. One former student said she was told that girls are “at fault” if they get sexually abused.
“We got told in an assembly that boys ‘can’t control themselves,’ and that ‘their brains aren’t fully developed until they’re 25 … it is down to what you wear’,” she said.
Lal said they had heard numerous stories of conversion therapy at Bethlehem College.
“Students have shared that the counselling services and the teachers at Bethlehem College try to make them non-queer,” they said. “Students report that teachers have verbally abused them for being queer.”
Lal also pointed to the school’s “Statement of Belief”, outlined in its school charter and published on its webpage.
It reads: “Marriage is an institution created by God in which one man and one woman enter into an exclusive relationship intended for life, and that marriage is the only form of partnership approved by God for sexual relations.”
The school’s rules, listed on its website, state that students, trustees and staff “must always act in a way that honours the school’s statement of special character and statement of belief”.
A parent whose child attended the college and who spoke to Stuff on the basis of anonymity said one student was told by a member of staff that they had “a demon inside that needed to be exorcised”.
Another parent told Stuff that a member of staff had told them that there were “no gender-fluid students here, they’re all either boys or girls”.
Tauranga LGBTQIA+ advocate and former Bethlehem College student, Katerina Clark, said discriminatory statements in the school charter could encourage harmful bullying at the school which could have devastating consequences on the victims.
Clark, now 31, said she “was terrified” of coming out as students were told that “gay people go to hell”. She was also bullied, which led to depression, self-harm and a suicide attempt.
Clark welcomed the petition and said that remembering how she was treated at school was “triggering”.
“It takes me back to how I felt in my late teens, this sense of overwhelming confusion and this almost unbalanced ideology of what I think is right and wrong can really mess with your mind,” said Clark.
“I understand a Christian school has an agenda and is based on religious beliefs, and it’s a choice if you send your child to that school, but the school needs to be really careful how they word things.
“I can tell you for a fact there are LGBTQI identified people in that school, even if they don’t know it for themselves yet, like I didn’t know at the time. At the end of the day, we should be teaching kindness and remember that love is love, and God loves all.”
Lal said the government and Minister of Education Chris Hipkins needed to take action.
“The Ministry and Minister of Education cannot pretend that they cannot do anything or that their hands are tied,” they said. “How many more students need to be abused by Christian extremists before the authorities will act? They are already aware of the issue as they left me on ‘seen’ on Instagram but did not comment.”
Lal was recently included in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia list for social impact, recognising influential young leaders, advocates and entrepreneurs across the globe.
Shakes reiterated that the school is continuing their investigation.
“We’re focused on the wellbeing of the affected students and their families. Our school’s experienced and caring counsellors have been made available to support them. We have been in contact with them over the weekend and remain in contact with them today.
“We appreciate that these can be difficult and sensitive issues and we strive to address them with care and respect.”
Regarding the Statement of Belief, Shakes, posted a message on the college’s Facebook page on Saturday, and said the college strived to “live out our beliefs in a loving and respectful manner”.
“Bethlehem College was founded to provide a Bible-based, Christian education, and this is why many parents choose to send their children to Bethlehem College,” he said.
“We therefore have a duty to our school community, as well as a legal responsibility, to maintain our special character as a Christian school.
“We openly express our special character through commitments such as our Statement of Belief, which includes a well-recognised mainstream Christian understanding of marriage. Our Statement of Belief isn’t intended to tell anyone what they are required to believe, but rather to transparently explain what we believe.
“Respectfully, there appears to be a misunderstanding of New Zealand law as well as the purpose of a Statement of Belief. New Zealand law, including the Human Rights Act, doesn’t give anyone the right to force others to adopt their beliefs.
“We endeavour at all times to live out our beliefs in a loving and respectful manner, and encourage all our students to speak to our counsellors if they need any support in any area.
“It’s worth noting our Christian beliefs support and enhance the health and wellbeing of our students: As our most recent Education Review Office report notes: our special Christian character contributes to a strong sense of wellbeing and belonging for students.”
Shakes said Bethlehem College is “disappointed” by the vitriol directed against the school online.
“Our board of trustees, including staff members and our student representative, have had their names and photos posted online in a context inviting harassment, and the school’s board chair has received offensive emails,” he said.
“Our message to those acting in this way is: we respect your rights to hold and express your beliefs, please respect ours.”