Section 28

For other uses, see Section 28 (disambiguation).

Conservative Party poster criticising the Labour Party's support for LGBTQ education for the 1987 general election campaign, the year before Section 28 was enacted

Section 28 refers to a part of the Local Government Act 1988, which stated that local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". It is sometimes referred to as Clause 28, or as Section 2A in reference to the relevant Scottish legislation.

The legislation came into effect on 24 May 1988 during Margaret Thatcher's premiership. It caused many organisations, such as LGBT student support groups to either close, limit their activities or to self-censor. In addition, Section 28 had a widespread impact on schools across the United Kingdom. This was due to uncertainty around what constituted the "promotion" of homosexuality, leading many teachers to avoid discussing the topic in any educational context.

Section 28 was first repealed in Scotland under the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. It was subsequently repealed in England and Wales in November 2003, following New Labour's initial unsuccessful attempt to repeal the legislation under the Local Government Act 2000.

History

Background

Homosexuality was decriminalised for men over the age of 21 under the Sexual Offences Act 1967, following recommendations made in the Wolfdenden report in 1957. However, discrimination against gay men, and LGBT people in general, continued in the following decades.

This was exacerbated in 1981, as the first recorded cases of HIV/AIDS were found in five gay men with no previous health issues. The mass media, as well as medical professionals, then associated HIV/AIDS with gay and bisexual men. Although subsequent medical research showed that gay men were not the only people who were susceptible to contracting the virus, the perceived association with HIV/AIDS increased the stigmatisation of gay and bisexual men. This correlated with higher levels of discrimination towards LGBT people. Data from the British Social Attitudes Survey suggests that homophobia peaked in the United Kingdom in 1987, as 75% of the survey’s respondents believed that homosexual activity was "always or mostly wrong.”

Despite growing levels of homophobia in 1980s Britain, several Labour-led councils across the country introduced a range of anti-discrimination policies and provided specialist support services for their LGBT constituents. The Greater London Council also granted funding to a number of LGBT organisations, including the London Lesbian and Gay Community Centre in Islington.

Islington London Borough Council received further attention in 1986, when the Islington Gazette reported that a copy of the children’s book Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin was available in a local school library. The copy found by the Islington Gazette was actually located in an Inner London Education Authority teachers’ resource centre, and there was no evidence to support the newspaper’s claim that it was seen or used by children. However, the book’s portrayal of a young girl living with her father and his male partner provoked widespread outrage from the right-wing press and Conservative politicians. Following this, the 1987 election campaign saw the Conservative Party issue posters attacking the Labour Party for supporting the provision of LGBT education. Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin was referenced frequently in the parliamentary debates that led to the introduction of Section 28.

Legislation

Prior to the introduction of Section 28, Conservative politicians began to experience concerns about the future of the nuclear family as fewer people were getting married and divorce rates were increasing. In an attempt to mitigate these fears, the government introduced a clause to the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 which stated that sex education should “encourage … pupils to have due regard to moral considerations and the value of family life”. However, some Conservatives also blamed the perceived decline of the nuclear family on members of the LGBT community. During this time, Conservative backbench MPs such as Jill Knight also believed that schools and Labour-run local authority areas would provide materials that would ‘promote homosexuality’ to children.

Consequently, in 1986, Lord Halsbury first tabled the Local Government Act 1986 (Amendment) Bill, whose long title was An act to refrain local authorities from promoting homosexuality, in the House of Lords. The bill became commonly known as the Earl of Halsbury's Bill. Although it successfully passed both the House of Lords and the first stage in the House of Commons, further attempts to pass the bill were impeded by the 1987 general election and it ultimately did not become law. Its provisions were not reintroduced by the Conservative government following its re-election.

Instead, on 2 December 1987 in committee, Conservative MP David Wilshire proposed an equivalent amendment to the new pending Local Government Bill. Although Viscount Falkland attempted to include a compromise which would make the arts exempt from the proposed legislation, his bid was unsuccessful and the bill passed through to the House of Commons. The bill was ultimately passed under the name of Clause 28, and became law on 24 May 1988.

Controversy over applicability

As the Education (No. 2) Act 1986 gave school governors increased powers over the delivery of sex education, and Local Education Authorities no longer retained control over this, it has been argued that Section 28 was a redundant piece of legislation. Section 28 was heavily influential in spite of this, and many of its opponents campaigned for its abolition as "a symbolic measure against intolerance."

In response to widespread uncertainty about what the legislation permitted, including a common misconception that teachers were banned from discussing homosexuality with their students, the National Union of Teachers released a statement to try to provide clarity for its members. The statement asserted that the legislation restricted “the ability of local authorities to support schools in respect of learning and educating for equality”, had an adverse impact on schemes designed to curb discrimination and made “it difficult for schools to prevent or address the serious problems that arise from homophobic bullying." A government circular also stated that Section 28 would “not prevent the objective discussion of homosexuality in the classroom, nor the counselling of pupils concerned about their sexuality." This contributed to further confusion around what was permitted under Section 28, with Jill Knight asserting that the aim of Section 28 “was to protect children in schools from having homosexuality thrust upon them."

Both the Education Act 1996 and the Learning and Skills Act 2000 reduced Section 28’s impact on sex education policy prior to its repeal, as the Secretary of State for Education solely regulated the delivery of sex education in England and Wales under these policies. However, the policy continued to have a significant impact on LGBT inequality across Britain.

Prosecutions and complaints

No local authorities were successfully prosecuted under Section 28. However, there were legal attempts to use it to stop the funding of LGBT and HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives.

In May 2000, Glasgow resident Sheena Strain took Glasgow City Council to the Court of Session, with support from the Christian Institute. Strain objected to her council tax being used for what she viewed as the promotion of homosexuality. She particularly took issue with the provision of funding to the Scottish HIV/AIDS awareness organisation PHACE West, which produced and distributed a safe sex guide named ‘Gay Sex Now.’ Strain claimed that the guide was pornographic.

Glasgow City Council countered this by arguing that the funding granted to PHACE West was for the purpose of preventing the further transmission of HIV/AIDS, and that the organisation was not promoting homosexuality. The council also emphasised that the Scottish Parliament had recently passed the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000, which would consequently repeal Section 28.

However, two months later, Strain dropped the case after reaching an agreement with the council. Under the agreement, Glasgow City Council was required to include a covering letter to grant recipients, stating that "You will not spend these monies for the purpose of promoting homosexuality nor shall they be used for the publication of any material which promotes homosexuality."

Political response

The implementation of Section 28 divided the Conservative Party, heightening tensions between party modernisers and social conservatives. In 1999, Conservative leader William Hague controversially sacked frontbencher Shaun Woodward for refusing to support the party line for Section 28's retention. Woodward then defected to the Labour Party in opposition to the Conservatives' continued support of Section 28. His dismissal also prompted Steven Norris and Ivan Massow to speak out against both Hague’s decision to sack Woodward, and against Section 28. Ivan Massow, an openly gay man, defected to the Labour Party in August 2000.

In the House of Lords, the campaign to repeal Section 28 was led by openly gay peer Waheed Alli. The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party also opposed the legislation.

Repeal

Section 2A was repealed in Scotland under the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 on 21 June 2000. While 2 MSPs abstained from the vote, a majority of 99 voted for the repeal of Section 28 and 17 voted against it.

Although New Labour’s first attempt to repeal Section 28 in England and Wales was defeated following a campaign led by Baroness Young, backbench MPs introduced a new amendment to repeal the legislation as part of another Local Government Bill in early 2003. This amendment was supported by the government and was passed by the Commons in March 2003, with a majority of 368 to 76. As the impact of organised opposition within the House of Lords diminished following the death of Baroness Young, the legislation was subsequently passed with a majority of 180 to 130 in July 2003. The Local Government Bill received Royal Assent as the Local Government Act 2003 on 18 September 2003, and Section 28 was removed from the statute books.

Despite this, Kent County Council produced its own school curriculum guidelines as the county’s “own form of Section 28.” The guidelines attempted to prohibit schools from “promoting homosexuality", while urging schools to emphasise the perceived importance of marriage and the nuclear family to their pupils. The guidance distributed to local schools by Kent County Council was eventually quashed by the Equality Act 2010.

Support for Section 28

The main supporting argument for Section 28 was that it would protect children from being ‘indoctrinated’ into homosexuality. Other arguments made in support of the legislation included that the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality undermined the importance of marriage, the claim that the general public supported Section 28, and that it did not prevent schools from discussing homosexuality objectively. The Conservative Party whipped its members to support Section 28 in 2000, but allowed a free vote on its proposed repeal in 2003 following dissent from some of its members.

The Secondary Heads Association and NASUWT objected to repealing the legislation, stating in July 2000 that "it would be inappropriate to put parents and governors in charge of each school's sex education policy." Religious groups including, but not limited to, The Salvation Army, the Christian Institute, Christian Action, Research and Education, and the Muslim Council of Britain, also expressed their support for Section 28. Newspapers that strongly supported Section 28 included the Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Record.

One of Section 28’s most prominent supporters in Scotland was the businessman Brian Souter, who led the country’s Keep the Clause campaign. This included privately funding a postal ballot, after which he claimed that 86.8% of respondents were in favour of retaining Section 28. However, the poll received responses from less than one third of registered voters in Scotland. The poll’s result was dismissed by the Scottish Executive and acting Local Government and Communities Minister Wendy Alexander MSP, and received further criticism from LGBT rights campaigner Peter Tatchell. In contrast, Nicola Sturgeon of the SNP responded to the poll by stating that “the result confirmed that many Scots were concerned about repeal” and claimed that the debate regarding Section 28 was “difficult.”

Opposition to Section 28

Activists target a bus operated by Brian Souter's Stagecoach company at a rally in Albert Square, Manchester, on 15 July 2000.

Those who advocated for the repeal of Section 28 argued that the legislation actively discriminated against LGBT people, and put vulnerable young people at further risk from harm by failing to offer appropriate pastoral support or address homophobic bullying. They also stated that Section 28 contributed to the further stigmatisation of LGBT people, particularly gay men, by framing them as inherently “predatory and dangerous to be allowed around children.”

Section 28’s implementation served to “galvanise [the disparate British LGBT rights movement] into action”, leading to the formation of campaign groups including Stonewall and OutRage!. The Equality Network led the campaign in favour of repealing Section 28 in Scotland. Other organisations that supported repealing the legislation included Gingerbread, the Family Planning Association and the Terrence Higgins Trust.

The campaign to repeal Section 28 received media support from publications including Capital Gay, the Pink Paper, The Guardian, the Gay Times, The Independent and The Daily Mirror. Many people who were involved in the labour movement, including trade union members, also opposed the legislation.

In February 1988, John Shiers led a demonstration in Manchester in protest against Section 28. 25,000 people attended the protest. The night before Section 28 came into effect in May 1988, several protests were staged by lesbian campaigners. These included abseiling into Parliament and invading the BBC1's Six O'Clock News. During the invasion, one woman chained herself to Sue Lawley's desk and was sat on by the newsreader Nicholas Witchell.

A benefit show in support of the abolition of Section 28 also took place at Piccadilly Theatre on 5 June 1988, with over 60 performers. These included Pet Shop Boys, Sir Ian McKellen, Stephen Fry and Tilda Swinton. Boy George and Chumbawamba also released singles in protest against Section 28.

After Section 28 was implemented, some local authorities continued to deliver training to education practitioners on how to deliver their services without discriminating against LGBT people. Manchester City Council also continued to sustain four officer posts directly involved in policy making and implementation, contributing to the 1992 report Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988: a Guide for Workers in the Education Service, produced by Manchester City Council, May 1992.

Legacy

Rainbow plaque marking the location of protests against Section 28 in Victoria Gardens, Leeds

In 2012, when the Coalition government launched its consultation into legalising same-sex marriages, Harrow East MP Bob Blackman suggested that David Cameron should resurrect Section 28, stating that he strongly believed that "Section 28 was the right rules to have in school so that we should not promote in any way shape or form promote same-sex relationships" and said he would be "very opposed" to seeing teachers being forced to say same-sex relationships are equivalent to heterosexual relationships. Shortly after, Blackman's Labour predecessor Tony McNulty branded him a "complete idiot" on Twitter.

In 2014, a Stonewall report on homophobic bullying in schools found that 37% of primary school teachers and 29% of secondary school teachers did not know if they were allowed to teach lessons on LGBT+ issues.

In 2015, Pink News accused the Evangelical Alliance's report to the Women and Equalities Select Committee's transgender inquiry, which said in part that "children should be protected from having to sort through [questions regarding sex or gender] before they reach an appropriate age" as reminiscent of Section 28.

After the Women and Equalities Select Committee recommended updating the Gender Recognition Act 2004 away from a medicalised approach and towards one based on statutory declarations in 2016, the ensuing and ongoing debate raised fears among some trans people that a new Section 28 could be introduced, especially after equalities minister Liz Truss said that government policy would be based in part on the principle "that the under 18s are protected from decisions that they could make, that are irreversible in the future." LGBT+ rights charity Stonewall stated that the government rhetoric "sounds similar to how young lesbian, gay and bi people were spoken about in the 1980s."

In 2016, research by Janine Walker and Jo Bates found that Section 28 still had a lasting effect on school libraries, with very little LGBTQ+ literature available or support from librarians being given. Later in 2019, John Vincent said that through his research he still met British librarians who assumed Section 28 was still in place.

A 2018 study from Anglia Ruskin University found that only 20% of LGBT+ teachers who had taught under Section 28 were openly LGBT+, whereas almost 90% of those had been trained after the repeal of the law were. The study additionally found that 40% of the teachers from the Section 28 era saw their LGBT+ identity as incompatible with their role as teachers, whereas only 13% of the post-Section 28 era teachers did.

Academies

Section 28 received renewed attention in late 2011, when Michael Gove, in Clause 28 of the Model Funding Agreement for academies and free schools, added the stipulation that the benefits of marriage be taught in schools. Although the clause does not explicitly mention sexual orientation, with same-sex marriage not being legal at the time, it prompted The Daily Telegraph (traditionally supportive of the Conservative Party) to draw comparisons between the two clauses.

Academies and the Department for Education came under greater scrutiny in August 2013, when LGBT activists, in co-ordination with the British Humanist Association (BHA), identified over forty schools whose policies either replicated the language of Section 28 in their sex and relationship education (SRE) policies or were "unhelpfully vague" on the issue. Several of the schools highlighted by the BHA included the Evelyn Grace Academy chain of faith schools – which opened after the repeal of Section 28, Tasker-Milward V.C. School, whose SRE policy, dating from 2008, implied the clause was still in force, and The Northumberland Church of England Academy, who was listed as a School Champion by LGBT rights charity Stonewall and whose staff spoke at Stonewall's 2013 Education for All Conference. In light of the media coverage, the Welsh Government announced an investigation into the Tasker-Milward School, and the Department for Education, announcing its own investigation, stated that schools were prohibited under DfE guidance from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation.

Cultural depictions

Margaret Thatcher Queen of Soho (2013), a drag comedy musical play, displays what life would have been like if Margaret Thatcher had got lost in Soho on the eve of the vote for Section 28. It was produced in December 2013 by Jon Brittain, Aine Flanagan, Matt Tedford at Theatre503 in London.

Next Lesson (2015) is a comedy drama written by Chris Woodley which explores Section 28 in a fictional South East London school from 1988 to 2006. The play was first performed at The Pleasance Theatre, London in 2015. To mark the thirtieth anniversary of Section 28 a new production was staged at Above The Stag Theatre London in August 2018. A staged reading was also performed in The House of Lords by The BRIT School in June 2018.

Russell T. Davies included a scene in the TV series Queer as Folk (1999) with a classmate of the gay schoolboy Nathan stopping a teacher discussing an author's sexuality with "You can't teach us about poofs. You're not allowed." He referenced it again in It's A Sin (2021), where gay schoolteacher Ash is ordered to remove books from the school library which reference homosexuality, following the introduction of the law in 1988.

The Outrage (2021) by British author William Hussey is a dystopian novel set in future England, overtaken by a far-right government which prosecutes LGBT people. The government gets its power to do so from a fictive law called Section 28, named after the 1988 law.

Blue Jean (2022) depicts the struggles of a young lesbian teacher in the north east of England as she comes to terms with her sexuality against the background of the passage of Clause 28 in 1988.

See also

• LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
• LGBT History Month
• Briggs Initiative
• Thatcherism
• Censorship of LGBT issues
  • Russian LGBT propaganda law – similar law introduced in Russia in 2013
  • Florida Parental Rights in Education Act – similar law passed in Florida in 2022
  • LGBT ideology-free zones - similar laws introduced by over 100 municipalities in Poland
• "Promotion of homosexuality"

General and cited sources

• Text of the Local Government Act 1986 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
• Text of the Local Government Act 1988 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
• "Local Government Act (1988)". Section 28. Retrieved 9 February 2005. (Full text of the section)
• "Knitting Circle". Section 28 1989 Gleanings. Archived from the original on 14 November 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2005. (Newspaper clippings from 1989 demonstrating use of Section 28 to close LGBT student groups and cease distribution of material exploring gay issues)
• "The Guardian (31 January 2000)". Jenny, Eric, Martin ... and me. London. 31 January 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2005. (article on Section 28 and the book that caused the controversy, Jenny lives with Eric and Martin, by author, Susanne Bosche)
• "Knitting Circle (9 August 2001)". Section 28. Archived from the original on 12 December 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2005. (History of Section 28 with notes on attempted legislation that led up to the final amendment)
• "Gay and Lesbian Humanist Society". Section 28. Archived from the original on 8 March 2005. Retrieved 28 February 2005. (Notes and links on Section 28 from a humanist perspective, with notes on usage of the Section 2a name.)
• "When gay became a four-letter word". BBC News. 20 January 2000. Retrieved 4 June 2005. (Potted history of Section 28 from 2000)
• "USSU National Policy Issues (28 January 1988)". Section 5.2.1 Stop Clause 28 (of Local Government Bill). Archived from the original on 5 May 2005. Retrieved 29 June 2005. (USSU National Policy Issues detailing notes on heightened violence against gays and lesbians in the lead-up to Section 28 enactment)
• "Tory adviser defects to Labour". BBC News. 2 August 2000. Retrieved 21 February 2005. (Report of gay Conservative Ivan Massow's defection to the Labour Party)
• "Scotsman.com News". Nicholas Witchell: A Celebration. Archived from the original on 28 December 2005. Retrieved 18 May 2005. (Nicholas Witchell's encounter with Section 28 protesters)
• "National Union of Teachers (5 April 2003)". NUT campaign to repeal Section 28. Archived from the original on 25 December 2004. Retrieved 9 February 2005. (Statement by the NUT on the controversy of applicability of Section 28)
• "The Sunday Times (London) (29 May 1988)". Schools Escape Clause 28 in 'Gay Ban' Fiasco. Retrieved 9 February 2005. (Knight's response to the controversy of applicability of Section 28)
• "(30 May 2000)". Poll supports S28 retention. 30 May 2000. Retrieved 19 February 2005. (Brian Souter's Keep the Clause campaign runs unofficial poll to discredit reformers)
• "The Christian Institute". Briefing Paper – Section 28. Archived from the original on 4 August 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2005. (Summary of points in support of Section 28)

External links

• Text of the Local Government Act 1988 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.
• "The Section 28 Battle". BBC News. 24 July 2000. Retrieved 25 March 2003.
• Royal Assent of the Local Government 1988