“An inclusive school is not a matter of symbolic support, but of concrete responsibility to ensure that every child has a safe, dignified, and supportive environment for development. Young people need understanding instead of fear and acceptance instead of humiliation, and the education system is one of the key spaces where this message can be translated into practice,” states the Guide to LGBTIQ+ Topics for Primary and Secondary School Teachers, published by the Centre for Civic Education (CCE) and prepared by Svetlana Jovetić Koprivica and Miroslav Minić.
The Guide represents a practical tool for strengthening the knowledge, sensitivity, and professional capacities of education staff in working with young people, particularly on issues related to diversity, human rights, the prevention of discrimination, and the protection of the dignity of students. As the authors note, there is still a lack of space within the Montenegrin education system for open, responsible, and professionally grounded discussions on queer topics. Schools are not only places for acquiring knowledge, but also for shaping values, attitudes, and relationships towards others. Therefore, the Guide is based on the premise that ignoring these topics is not neutral, but directly creates space for stereotypes, prejudice, and violence.
The Guide is structured into six sections addressing the understanding of homophobia, the recognition of homophobic peer violence, communication with LGBTIQ+ youth, cooperation with parents, cooperation with institutions, and procedures for documenting violence. In addition to explaining key concepts and the broader social context, the Guide includes concrete problem scenarios, suggestions for classroom activities, examples of appropriate and inappropriate communication, a framework for parent-teacher meetings, and a practical template for recording incidents of violence or discrimination. In this way, it goes beyond general recommendations and becomes a valuable and applicable tool for everyday school practice.
The authors emphasise that a scientifically grounded and direct discussion of queer topics in schools can be an important step in combating homophobia and transphobia, as well as in creating a school environment in which young people feel safer, more accepted, and freer to be themselves. The Guide highlights that homophobic violence often does not begin with physical conflict, but with offensive language, labelling, ridicule, threats, exclusion, and various forms of verbal and digital harassment, which is why it is crucial for schools to respond rather than remain silent.
As underlined, supporting LGBTIQ+ youth in schools begins with respect for their personality, dignity, and identity, through confidential, careful, and non-stigmatising communication, as well as ethical cooperation with parents, guardians, and foster families, always guided by the best interests of the child. At the same time, the Guide reminds that schools cannot bear the responsibility of protecting the rights of LGBTIQ+ youth alone, and that cooperation with relevant institutions and organisations is essential in providing additional support and ensuring effective protection.
It is particularly important that the Guide provides teachers with a clear framework for action in situations of violence and discrimination, from timely recognition and documentation of cases to the involvement of school teams and notification of competent authorities. In a society where these topics are still too often silenced, relativised, or addressed from a distance, such an approach represents both a professional resource and a public stance: that no child should be left alone in the face of prejudice, violence, and institutional indifference. Furthermore, the Guide positions education professionals not only as providers of knowledge, but also as potential allies of young people, especially in situations where students may seek support from a teacher before turning to their family or wider community.
Therefore, this Guide is not only a support tool for teachers, but also a reminder to the entire education system that schools must be spaces of safety, responsibility, and equal dignity for all. As long as there are children and young people who fear the classroom, the school corridor, or their own peers because of their identity, inclusion is not an addition to education, but a test of its humanity.
The Guide was developed within the project “Through the Kaleidoscope of Diversity – Better Perspectives for LGBTIQ+ Rights”, implemented by CCE with the financial support of the Ministry of Human and Minority Rights.
Miloš Knežević, Programme Development Coordinator