Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Social Justice – in the Senedd at 2:09 pm on 7 December 2022.
I thank Sarah Murphy for raising this, and also for your support for the LGBTQ+ action plan. As you said, it's an incredibly important piece of work that we're doing and, obviously, it's not just about having that plan, it's the difference it actually makes in practice. And can I also pass on my thanks and recognition to Ollie for speaking so candidly about this and sharing the experiences of young people, which, sadly, is still happening, not just in schools but in different settings across Wales? It makes me particularly sad, because I was bullied at school because—I think I've said in here before—other children saw something in me that I hadn't recognised myself.
You talk about those negative connotations and slurs, and, if you remember that old saying, 'Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me', well, that's definitely not true—names do hurt. One of the things that sticks in my mind, and I've actually shared it with some of my colleagues, is that they called me 'Lesley'—I think they meant 'Lesley the lesbian'. So, as well as being incredibly cruel, bullies are also very unimaginative as well. But, they say the personal is the political, so this LGBTQ+ action plan is really, really important to me on that level as well, because I want to see this change for generations that are in school now and generations to come, and I think the work that Ollie's doing is really important. I'd be very happy to meet Ollie along with the Member.
But, on the action plan itself, there are a series of actions in there, and I'm looking very closely with the Minister for education about how we not only support young people in schools, but support their educators and support the teachers to be able to handle and address these things with care and with confidence as well, because I think there is still that hangover, that legacy of section 28, where people are still, unfortunately, nervous to tackle these issues. So, we need to offer support for the teachers and the teaching staff as well as for the learners.