The tragedy of 15-year-old Dominic Crouch, driven to suicide last year after playground taunting that he was gay, was revisited last week when his heartbroken father, Roger, was found dead.

Recently named its "hero of the year" by Stonewall, Roger Crouch, 55, had been working to raise awareness of homophobic bullying in the wake of Dom's death. He had become involved in the fledgling charity Diversity Role Models, set up by teacher Suran Dickson. It aims to tackle what has become perhaps the most pervasive form of intimidation in schools today – homophobic bullying – and found demand for its workshops and services outstripping expectations. The legacy of the notorious Clause 28 has left schools skirting round the issue, afraid of having to talk about homosexual sex when in fact the real issue is about respect and identity.

Schoolchildren endure stress and misery as homophobic abuse and name-calling go unnoticed or unpunished. As casual racism and sexism have become increasingly unacceptable, homophobic name-calling is passing into everyday use.

Schoolchildren say being called gay is the worst possible insult that can be thrown at them. The epithet strikes at self-esteem and confidence and not only disrupts kids' education but leaves them angry or despairing, with lasting consequences. For every Dom, driven to an extreme act, there are dozens, if not hundreds, left scarred by homophobia and by the failure of adults to tackle it.

Bullying is an age-old issue that many schools are now taking seriously, but the same has to happen with homophobic name-calling. It needs to be challenged at every airing. And this isn't happening. Instead, casual anti-homosexual remarks or humour are tolerated, making harsher barbed bullying more acceptable.

Homophobic language needs to be struck from usage to protect our children from the despair experienced by the Crouch family. Call it political correctness, but eradicating prejudice saves lives.