Section 28 was brought in by the Thatcher government in 1988, prohibiting local authorities from "intentionally promoting homosexuality' and the "teaching of homosexuality as a pretend family relationship" The law came at a a time where support for LGBTQ+ people and access to help from local authorities was crucial.
Section 28 had a very suppressive impact on our community, both during the time of it being in place, and now 20 years after its repeal. However, our community's perseverance and activism continued despite it, and it even helped Queer people find the sense of community they needed - seen through the unity in campaigning against Section 28 .
November 18th 2023 marks the 20th anniversary of Section 28's repeal, which we have curated a programme of events around. We have invited artists, writers, activists, teachers, and archivists and created events which will shine a light on the different way Section 28 effected people on a personal and collective level.
Over the months we spent working on the project, we have been lucky to be able to gather personal archives and stories, directly from people who experienced Section 28 first hand, and those who were effected by its lasting impact on our education system. Using personal archives is really important to us for various reasons - queer lives and history have been systemically undocumented and their importance isn't always reflected in archives; we knew that lots of people hang on to objects from the past which they don't quite see as something people would be interested in (we are!), and most of all we wanted to show the personal impact of activism, community and perseverance. You'll see those archives at most of the events as well as in our display case as part of Leeds City Museum's Overlooked: Legacies exhibition. If you have any personal archives you'd like to share, we'd love to hear more from you. Please get in touch with us by filling out this form!
Thanks to our funding from Leeds Inspired, and all the in-kind support we have been lucky to receive, all events are free to attend. We have only used wheelchair accessible venues and can provide detailed access information upon request. If you have any questions, please contact us.