“Section 28 created a violent and dangerous atmosphere for LGBT people throughout the United Kingdom. The government painted the gay community out to be predators, they were viewed as a threat to society and a danger to children.”
Kate Osborne MP
In 1988, when the cruel and unjust Section 28 was ratified as law, I and thousands of others spoke out and marched in protest. We made ourselves heard when the government forced us into silence. We stood together as the government tried to destroy our communities.
It took 15 years of campaigning before Section 28 was repealed -15 years where LGBT+ people were stigmatised, vilified and dehumanised. The law sent a message to the gay community that they were not wanted. People were forced back into the closet; teachers feared their jobs would be lost if they were outed in their workplace.
Section 28 created a violent and dangerous atmosphere for LGBT people throughout the United Kingdom. The government painted the gay community out to be predators, they were viewed as a threat to society and a danger to children. Section 28 was used to silence their communities. Up and down the country LGBT organisations were forced to cease public operations, this not only hindered years of organised campaigning for equality but also exacerbated a public health disaster surrounding the Aids and HIV epidemic. The ‘Gay Plague’ was only made worse by the stigma around it. Section 28 prevented discussion about the disease, creating fear and fueling hatred. The TV adverts vilifying gay men in particular whilst silencing us from talking about it, the law meant there was little chance for education, people feared they could catch it through touch or contaminated air.
My community was pushed further from society, forced into silence and vilified by the government that represented them.
I spent 15 years campaigning against Section 28, we saw the foundation of Stonewall and others – all set up in direct response to the oppressive law – and now in 2023 I find myself back campaigning against a Government seeking to repress the LGBTQ+ communities – a Government that wants to take us back to the awful days of section 28.
Well just like the 80’s every time they attempt to silence and destroy LGBTQ communities they will galvanise us. Just like the people I marched and campaigned beside then – we will not sit back now we will continue to to fight for the basic rights held by others.
Thanks to the unwavering commitment of LGBT activists Section 28 was repealed on the 18th of November 2003.
In the 20 years since then, progress towards equality has been made; yet now the language of oppression is once again frequently on the lips of today’s government.
A Conservative Party that in 2009 officially apologised to the LGBT community for the introduction of Section 28 is seemingly attempting to bring it back, not just through law and guidance but through the court of public opinion. Loudly proclaiming they are waging war on woke. The government’s divisive language and attacks on transgender people are eerily reminiscent of the moral panic they created around the gay community in the late 1980s. Where it was once gay men who were derided as ‘predators’ and ‘sexual deviants’ it is now the transgender community who bears the brunt of this hateful and dangerous rhetoric. They have emerged as a new scapegoat for a government in a nosedive, attempting to direct attention away from their continual failure to deliver on their promises.
Last week I attempted to amend the Kings speech to include a ban on so called conversion therapy – a ban they have been promising for more than 5 years. The government suggested they would whip MPs to vote against it.
During PMQs last week I asked the Prime Minister how in the week celebrating the 20 years since the abolition of section 28 he could justify – appointing a Minister who attacks LGBTQ+ people & seeks a return to those awful days, denying our human rights & attacking our existence.
The Prime Minister replied to my question saying he was proud of his record on LGBTQ issues that they introduced same sex marriage – yet the Question I asked him was around the appointment of a minister who voted against same sex marriage – he should not be proud of his record when he is failing our LGBTQ+ community every single day that abhorrent conversion practices are still allowed to be carried out.
This week saw Trans remembrance day, with vigils up and down the country – so many young people, Brianna, Corei, Alice & many more whose lives were taken, young people lost to violence and suicide. We must end transphobia and end the hate. This Government’s rhetoric and war on woke puts young people’s lives at risk.
With hate crimes soaring and no ban on conversion therapy, LGBT+ people are being let down across the board. The government claiming to champion LGBT rights is not only untrue, it is offensive to all those mourning a young person’s life, to all those suffering at the hands of bigots and to the groups and individuals that have fought for the last 20 years to ensure Section 28 never reappears in any capacity.
If the government was truly committed to championing LGBT rights it would take heed of the large cross-party support my recent amendment to the King’s Speech regarding a conversion therapy ban received, and implement a blanket ban on conversion practices. What better way to show how far the Conservative party has come in the 20 years since the repeal of Section 28 than by passing a law that would truly protect LGBT people?
It is time to stop making empty claims and promises to the LGBT community and to begin championing their right to equality.
- Kate Osborne is the MP for Jarrow and a regular contributor to Labour Outlook. You can follow her on Facebook, twitter and Instagram.
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