School pupils and staff have suffered homophobic abuse in Dundee during the last year.
According to information released by Dundee City Council, 13 instances of pupils suffering homophobic hate crime occurred between 2016 and 2017.
School staff have also been targeted during the last 12 months, it has been revealed.
The information also shows charity LGBT Youth Scotland has visited schools in the city to provide training and consultation.
The Courier revealed at the end of July that the number of complaints relating to people being abused in Dundee because of their sexuality has increased by almost a third during the last year.
There were 30 allegations made to police in the City of Discovery in 2016-17, an increase of seven on the previous year.
Dundee City Council’s equalities spokesperson Gregor Murray hit out at those responsible — an praised victims for having the courage to come forward.
The SNP councillor said: “Obviously one incident is one incident of homophobic hate crime too many, and all of our schools are working hard to keep those numbers down. But it is encouraging to see that our young people and staff are coming forward to ensure that it is recorded.
“I do sometimes worry that too many cases are never reported, and never counted.
“I’ve spoken quite a lot with Craigie High School, who have been leading the way not just in Dundee, but across Tayside, in working towards their Bronze LGBT Youth Scotland Charter Mark. They’ve done exceptionally well so far and have great ambitions for working towards the next level — the silver.
“I would encourage all of our schools in Dundee to learn from their experiences, even if they’re not working towards the charter mark officially. Corporately, we are also looking at what we can do as a service to ensure that we fulfil the requirements of the award.”
Liz Smith MSP, the Scottish Conservative’s education spokeswoman, said: “While the number of reported incidents may be relatively low, I think most people would agree that one instance of homophobic abuse is one too many.
“It is also worrying to hear that members of staff are being targeted in this way.
“I am pleased to hear that LGBT Youth Scotland has provided training for school representatives in the Dundee area. That is the type of positive engagement that will help stamp out this unacceptable behaviour.”
According to LGBT charity Stonewall, only a quarter of such hate crimes are reported to police.
The charity say that seven in 10 victims of homophobic crime do not report being targeted.
Gay men and young people are “far less likely” to report abuse than lesbians and older people, the charity say.
