As I said previously, I am wearing purple today to remember those who have died as a result of homophobic bullying, and also to raise awareness of this issue.

Last night, when I attended the LGBT sectoral consultation on the OFMDFM’s draft Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration, we learnt some horrendous statistics from The Rainbow Project:

• 98% of LGBT young people suffered homophobic bullying at school.
• 30% of this school bullying was by adults

This is unacceptable, and must be condemned by all.

As a start, let’s all wear something purple today.