Stonewall Cymru | 
"I can't honestly recall a single day in which I haven't had some sort of reference to my sexuality. I've received physical violence twice. On each occasion I had to go to hospital."
In April, we launched our new programme, Education for All at our Annual Conference. Education For All is a campaign to stamp out homophobia and homophobic bullying in schools. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters we've been able to make a signifcant start, as you may have read in a number of Wales newspapers.
We've launched a dedicated website providing information and resources to both teachers and young people - last month alone, it received 2,300 visitors. Later this year, a unique play about homophobic bullying will tour schools in Denbighshire. Stonewall Cymru will also contribute toward INSET training workshops as part of our work to support the Welsh Assembly Government's Anti-bullying iniative. The first anti-bullying week in Wales, will run from 10th October.
None of this would have been possible without the generosity of our supporters, and we are asking once again for support in continuing with this important work. To make a donation please click here.
Since the launch of Education for All, we've been contacted by young people with distressing stories of what's happening to them today in British schools. For some, it's name-calling for years which saps young people's self-confidence. However, other children have been hospitalised by homophobic bullies. Children are on anti-depressants because their school doesn't take this kind of bullying seriously.
Some lesbian and gay children are now leaving school with the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. That's a disgraceful indictment of Britain's schools in 2005.
Amazingly, given the persistent harassment they receive, there has never been an attempt to measure the school experiences of young gay people. With your help, we want to undertake the first comprehensive survey of the educational experiences of the hundreds of thousands of young gay people in our schools across Great Britain. A similar biennial exercise in America has provided powerful evidence of the damage being done to the life chances of young people there.
Testimonies from young people are compelling but the results of a reputable national survey will allow us to engage forcefully with policy makers and educational professionals, persuading them of the pressing need - all too often still denied - to address homophobia in our schools. GLSEN, the US body which has done this work in the past, describes it as a "powerful tool in changing young gay people's lives." We believe it would be equally powerful in Britain.
Issues we will be researching include the frequency of homophobic abuse, both verbal and physical, if and how schools intervene in such instances and
the specific impact that such abuse has on young people's academic aspirations and performance.
The young people who contact us have convinced us of just how much work there is still to do. This pioneering survey will give a voice at last to thousands of lesbian, gay and bisexual children who would otherwise remain unheard.
Our supporters have already ensured that we've been able to make positive changes to the lives of thousands of school children. They may have been let down by their teachers and headteachers. They've often been let down by their parents as well. But these are our children too. Please help us fund this important piece of research.
Please make a donation today. Click here to make your donation.
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