The repeal of Section 28 will do little to help lesbian and gay pupils.
It is time to stop the hype. Section 28 does not prevent schools from talking about gay issues. The repeal of Section 28 won’t therefore halt the censorship of homosexuality in the classroom. Nor will it ensure that lesbian and gay pupils receive better support from their teachers. To claim that Section 28 is the main problem is misleading.
Let’s nail a few myths. “Section 28 does not apply to schools”, according to the Department of Education. “The content of sex education lessons is the legal responsibility of the head teacher and school governors, in consultation with parents”.
Section 28 prohibits the “promotion” of homosexuality by local authorities. But since the content of the school curriculum is not controlled by local authorities, Section 28 has no legal force over what is taught in the classroom.
Many teachers are, nevertheless, under the false impression that Section 28 applies to schools. This misguided view has encouraged self-censorship. Repealing Section 28 would therefore debunk the erroneous idea that it prevents the discussion of gay issues. That is the only positive benefit of getting rid of Section 28.
As OutRage! has long argued, it is pointless campaigning for the repeal of Section 28 without simultaneously campaigning for new legislation placing a legal obligation on schools to do three things:
First, stamp out homophobic bullying in the school playground (many schools currently fail to act against the harassment of gay pupils).
Second, promote student’s understanding and acceptance of gay people (most schools do nothing to challenge prejudice).
Third, ensure that sex education and AIDS awareness lessons include information about homosexuality and safer sex for queer kids (virtually no school in Britain provides this information).
Merely encouraging schools to do these three things will not work. Most teachers feel uncomfortable talking about sex. Many worry about the legal implications of giving explicit information to young people under 16. Some fear prosecution for aiding and abetting under-age sex. The only way to solve these problems is by changing the law to make it mandatory for teachers to deal with gay issues in an honest, supportive manner. Without this new legal obligation, most teachers will continue to fail their queer pupils.
Metropolis, 14 May 1998