Gay/Straight Alliance: a safe haven that ‘saves lives’

Premier Jim Prentice’s Bill 10 has been put on hold after igniting a firestorm of outrage and criticism. The bill sparked debate over whether students should have the automatic right to set up gay-straight alliances in their schools. But what is a Gay Straight Alliance?

“It saves lives. It helps kids find out where they need to be in the situation rather than telling them that they’re not normal and that they don’t belong.”

While attending high school in Okotoks, Sean MacAllum saw his school was in need of a safe haven. At the time, there were no Gay/Straight Alliances set up in the city.

“They weren’t really sure about doing it or not,” said MacAllum. “We did it anyway and then they just said, ‘if you’re going to do it anyway, we’ll do it officially.'”

GSA meetings are usually held after class when there’s an opportunity to be completely open without the fear of being judged or harassed.

“The most important aspect of GSAs is safe space. That is something that we always talk about here and that’s that everyone will feel welcome and that if anything is said in this kind of space, it stays here.”

A 2011 study done by Egale Canada Human Rights Trust showed that 51% of LGBTQ students have been verbally abused about their sexual orientation and 21% of those students have been physically harassed or assaulted for their sexual orientation. 64% of LGBTQ students felt unsafe at school.

MacAllum is still working to improve those numbers. He’s now at the University of Lethbridge, working with the school’s Pride Centre to provide a safe haven for students.

“The GSAs help youth understand which path to take. Not necessarily which path is the right path, but which path is their path. Because it can be a very confusing world”