“Take the Pledge” Anti-Homophobia Campaign Campaign Launched by Two Fifteen Year Old Straight Teens with the LGBT Network
Two heterosexual teenagers, Nathan and Ross have launched a campaign to encourage people to “Take The Pledge” in support of the LGBTQ community. The web based campaign on www.skelat.com/LGBTQ.html urges supporters to download a template which has space for their name and a paragraph on why they support the LGBTQ community. Participants are then encouraged to take a photograph of themselves holding the completed “pledge” and upload it to the Skelat.com website.
The fifteen year olds are based in Merseyside (England, UK) and despite being heterosexual, decided to setup the campaign to garner support for the community as they have witnessed the increase of casual homophobia and transphobia. Skelat.com was set up in January 2013 and is funded by the teenagers themselves and has grown to include blogs, useful tips, information sharing sections and various fundraising initiatives supporting different charities.
Over half (55%) of lesbian, gay and bisexual young people have experience bullying at School. The school report: the experiences of young gay people in Britain’s schools (PDF). http://bit.ly/ZEUPTJ London: Stonewall.
When asked what inspired him to set up the LGBTQ project, Nathan from Skelat.com said:
“People need to say enough is enough when it comes to discrimination, it is something we see all too much. Whether it is in our workplace, our play grounds or even our social networks, it’s something which needs to stop. People should only be judged by the content of their character Take The Pledge was born to give people the opportunity to share their opinion and support the community in a very visual and engaging manner and I would ask everyone to log onto the website and Take The Pledge.”
“In 2013 it is unacceptable that homophobic and transphobic bullying still blights the lives of millions of young people the world-wide. Young LGBTQ people are exposed to homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools and increasingly on-line from their bedrooms, the very place they should feel safe and protected. More work needs to be done to highlight this problem and the LGBT Network is thrilled to support this campaign from Skelat.com. The ‘Take the Pledge’ campaign allows people to affirm their support of the LGBTQ community in a very personal and visual manner. It is truly inspiring that two 15 year old heterosexual allies would show their commitment to equality in this way and they are a credit to their families and the communities within which they live.”
– Rob McDowall, Chair of the LGBT Network
