This winter marks 20 years since the repeal of Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. Section 28 prohibited the promotion of LGBTQ+ identities and lifestyles in public society by local authorities, it consequentially banned all material in the British school curricula that acknowledged the existence of queerness, effectively censoring knowledge of non-heteronormative modes of living within institutional settings for those who came of age in the 1990s and 2000s. Despite its repeal in 2003, Section 28’s gravity can still be felt today, especially in light of the surge of ‘Don’t say Gay’ bills across the US and the UK government’s creation of Section 35 to block the Scottish Gender Recognition Reform Bill.

The LGBTQ+ Network in collaboration with CGIS will reflect on this anniversary and its significance for LGBTQ+ history and politics today with a discussion panel of academics and activists.

The discussion will be followed by an informal reception.