MEDIA RELEASE: An Open Letter to Prime Minister Stuart Young
MEDIA RELEASE
March 21st, 2025
An Open Letter to Prime Minister Stuart Young:
A Call to Protect All Students and Build a More Just Trinidad and Tobago
Dear Prime Minister,
The Silver Lining Foundation (SLF) congratulates you on your appointment as Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago. This important role requires a passion for empowering all citizens, a comprehensive understanding of their needs, and clear and decisive leadership.
Leadership is not just about governing; it is about shaping a country where every citizen – especially the young and vulnerable – feels safe, valued, and protected. Today, we call on you to use this moment not just to acknowledge the reality of bullying but to take decisive, historic action to ensure that no student in Trinidad and Tobago must endure fear, violence, or exclusion simply for being who they are.
We are not here to litigate the recent discussions of past incidents from your school years. Instead, we urge you to acknowledge the present crisis: bullying is not a minor issue or a rite of passage. It is a crisis – one that requires immediate, thoughtful, and proactive action. Furthermore, bullying, particularly against LGBTQI+ students, remains one of the most widespread and harmful forms of violence in our schools. For far too long, this issue has been met with silence, inaction, and indifference from those in power.
Prime Minister, this is your opportunity to do more than offer words of commitment. This is your opportunity to lead – to ensure that all students, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or background, can enjoy their right to an education free from fear and intimidation.
What Must Be Done:
- Implement a Comprehensive National Anti-Bullying Policy
The Ministry of Education must establish a national framework that mandates explicit protections for students based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disability, and other vulnerabilities. Schools must be required to track and report incidents of bullying to ensure accountability and intervention, including those incidents that involve anti-LGBTQI+ bullying. Furthermore, teachers and administrators must also receive mandatory training on how to identify, prevent, and respond to bullying, including homophobic and transphobic harassment. This is training we have developed and facilitated for years.
- Amend the Equal Opportunity Act to Provide Basic Protections
The Equal Opportunity Act must be amended to include protections based on sexual orientation, age, and HIV status – three groups long denied basic legal safeguards, despite public support. No citizen should be denied access to education, housing, employment, or healthcare because of who they are. This is not a radical demand; it is a fundamental human right.
- Establish Safe and Inclusive School Environments
Schools should adopt clear policies to ensure that LGBTQI+ students have access to support services, and feel safe reporting discrimination. Guidance officers and counselors must be trained to provide nonjudgmental, affirming support for students facing bullying, discrimination, or mental health challenges. SLF has conducted two national surveys to assess the extent of school bullying & violence and has also trained nearly 100 secondary school teachers in Trinidad and Tobago on how to identify and combat bullying and violence in schools. The Ministry of Education must engage and collaborate with civil society organizations such as SLF, that have expertise in bullying and discrimination, to support policy reform and program implementation.
- Publicly Commit to Protecting All Students
As Prime Minister, you have the power to set the tone. A clear and unequivocal statement affirming that no student – LGBTQI+ or otherwise – should face bullying, harassment, or denial of their rights will send a strong message that your government will not tolerate discrimination in any form.
The time for excuses is over. For too long, students have been victimized in classrooms, some pushed out of schools, and forced to endure violence in silence. For too long, leaders have sidestepped the issue, fearing political backlash. But Prime Minister, basic protections for LGBTQI+ people should not be a political risk. They should be an expectation.
Leadership is not about what is easy – it is about what is right. The people of Trinidad and Tobago – our students, our teachers, our parents – are ready for a leader who will stand up for justice, dignity, and equality.
Prime Minister, you have a choice. You can either let this moment pass or you can seize the opportunity to make history. We urge you to be bold and take action. We urge you to prove that your commitment to ending bullying is not just empty words but a genuine promise. Every child in Trinidad and Tobago, regardless of who they are, deserves to feel safe, protected, and free to learn without fear. Every citizen has the right to live with dignity, free from discrimination and fear.
As a youth-led and youth-focused organisation committed to anti-bullying and suicide prevention, we hope that the principles of integrity, inclusion, and accountability will be reflected in policies that foster true equality and protection for all, including members of the LGBTQIA+ community. We call for a collaborative approach to understand and address the root causes of bullying and violence in schools in order to create a school culture that rejects bullying and discrimination in every form.
SLF remains steadfast in our mission to champion diversity, equality, and inclusivity, and we stand ready to work with you and your administration to do what should have been done long ago: to make these policies a reality.
Sincerely,
The Silver Lining Foundation
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About SLF
The Silver Lining Foundation (SLF) is a non-profit organisation registered in Trinidad and Tobago that works towards preventing bullying, suicide, and discrimination related to sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression (SOGIE) issues. SLF aims to empower youth, create safer classrooms and strengthen family relationships through a three-pronged approach of support, education, and advocacy, enabling youth to lead more fulfilling, sustainable, and functional lives.
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