Section 28 was introduced by the Conservative government in 1988. When was it repeal and why was it introduced?
Teachers who taught in schools during the late 1980s and 1990s were unable to teach or speak on issues of homosexuality because of Section 28 of the Local Government Act in England – a piece of legislation introduced by the Conservative government under Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, in 1988 banning the “promotion” of homosexuality in schools – according to new research published in the journal Sex Education.
In Scotland, similar legalisation was introduced called Section 2A.
It was introduced under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government. The legislation was introduced partly as a reaction to a 1986 children’s book called Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin, which depicted the life of a child with two gay fathers. Controversy about the availability of the book in some schools in London led to the passing of Section 28.
It was repealed in 2003 under the leadership of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Labour government, but during the time of its enforcement, many LGBT+ teachers felt it prohibited them being open about their own sexual identity in the workplace.
Section 2A was repealed by the Scottish government in the year 2000 and was one of the first pieces of policy enacted by a devolved Scottish government. The rest of the UK would have to wait another three years before the anti-gay clause was removed from the law books.
