#clause 27

Section 28 legislation [Clause 27/28] was introduced in 1988 to ban the "promotion of homosexuality" in the UK. Schools and councils were unable to provide young LGBTQ+ people with help. This homophobic legislation was partly introduced following the outcry over "Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin" being available to schoolchildren in Haringey. This picture book described the life of five-year-old Jenny, her father Martin, and his boyfriend Eric who lives with them.⁠ There was also increasing homophobia in the mainstream press due to the AIDS crisis and, when Margaret Thatcher spoke at the 1987 Conservative Party Conference, she declared how children were "being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay" and "all of those children are being cheated of a sound start in life". Section 28 was finally repealed on 21 June 2001 in Scotland and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of the UK.

The clause, also known as ‘Section 28’, attempted to halt the perceived ‘promotion’ of homosexuality and made a clear distinction between valid heterosexual families and ‘pretend’ homosexual ones. No local authority or government agency was ever successfully prosecuted under Section 28 before its repeal in 2003. Yet despite this, the fear of the legislation was enough to create a drop in funding of gay and lesbian charities and services, and to stop libraries stocking books by gay or lesbian authors or with LGBT themes. Teachers were – and are – confused as to their remit in discussing homosexuality in schools, providing sex education and challenging homophobic bullying in the schoolyard. This is the true legacy of Section 28. [LSE/HCA/Pink Singers]