Created by the British organization Stonewall, the "Gay by Degree" is an online guide that shows universities' level of preparation to welcome LGBT students or not.
In total, 160 UK universities are evaluated. Among the criteria is whether there are employees prepared to deal with and avoid homophobic incidents in the school environment. In this edition of the guide, which was financed by Google, four institutions appear that obtained the maximum score. They are: University College (UCL) and Imperial College, both in London, and the two in the interior of Wolverhampton and Portsmouth.
University College London has had an equality and diversity department since the 1990s. "It is a very important point for a university that is home to students from 140 countries. It is necessary to always reinforce respect for differences", says Fiona McClement, advisor to department, to the newspaper Folha de São Paulo.
The need for a guide that shows the performance of universities in relation to avoiding cases of homophobia arose after a survey, carried out in 2007 by Stonewall, showed that 65% of LGBT students faced homophobic bullying in their schools.
