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A new Section 28 is here – and it will harm gender-nonconforming children

7 3
22.07.2025

Poor teachers. Badly paid, overworked, and before teaching a single fact, they have to deal with pupils imbibing Andrew Tate, suffering mental health crises, or being starving hungry because their parents can’t afford to give them breakfast.

Throw in the most toxic culture war surrounding trans kids, with schools waiting years for guidance from the Government on how to handle the reality on the ground, and yet again they’ve been left in the dark trying to cope.

I know exactly how they feel. That was my adolescence – and that of my entire generation of gay people. “Left in the dark trying to cope” could be the title of a book about lesbian, gay and bisexual pupils growing up under Section 28, the 1988 law that gagged teachers from mentioning homosexuality. It took 15 years to repeal, casting a shadow of shame right into the 21st century.

Section 28 of the Local Government Act was particularly noxious because of how broad the wording was. Schools could not “promote the teaching… of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. It meant teachers felt it easier to say nothing than risk getting into trouble. It meant you heard “fag” in the playground but not........

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