LGBT+ History Month begins on February 1, 2024, marking the start of a celebration for UK LGBTQ+ people and their allies.
Returning for its 19th year, the event brings the community together under the rainbow flag to celebrate the moments that have shaped LGBTQ+ rights throughout history.
This year, the focus is ‘medicine under the scope,’ exploring how the LGBTQ+ community has made significant contributions to healthcare and medicine.
There has never been greater visibility for LGBT people, so the event (which ends on February 29) is an opportunity to celebrate how much progress has been made.
But it hasn’t always been this way.
The UK celebrates LGBT+ History Month to recognise the abolition of Section 28, a law that tried to limit the exposure of the LGBTQ+ community. This is similar to events held in the US in October to coincide with National Coming Out Day.
In force for 15 years, Section 28 was very controversial and led to protests in some parts of the UK.
Here’s what you need to know about it.
What was Section 28?
In 1988, the Conservative government passed a law that stopped councils and schools “promoting the teaching of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”. Another key provision of the the Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 was that a local authority "shall not intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality".
Schools were restricted from teaching pupils about being LGBT or same-sex relationships.
Gay and lesbian people in the UK were at the time demanding equality, to the dismay of traditionalists.
The law deprived generations of LGBT students of the opportunity to see people like them in books, plays, leaflets, or films that would be shown at school. Teachers who broke the law and promoted any of this material faced disciplinary action.
The law was inspired by the 1983 book Jenny Lives with Eric and Martin. This tried to give children information about different types of family relationships.
“Children who need to be taught to respect traditional moral values are being taught that they have an inalienable right to be gay,” Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister at the time, said.
“All of those children are being cheated of a sound start in life.”
The effects were horrendous and anti-LGBT bullying and homophobic slurs were rife.
Amid gay people's struggles with the Aids epidemic, critics said it was a cruel attempt to suppress a marginalised group.
However, it also inspired one of the most successful civil rights movements in British history — prompting the creation of Stonewall. This is an organisation that fights for the freedom, equity, and potential of LGBTQ+ people everywhere.
How was Section 28 repealed?
In 2000, widespread protests by LGBTQ+ campaigners eventually led to the scrapping of Section 28 in Scotland. Three years later, the rest of the UK followed suit, unlocking more freedom, equity, and potential of LGBTQ+ people everywhere.
Benâ¯Summerskill, chief executive of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights charity Stonewall at the time, said the law's abolition was a momentous step for equal rights.
“Its removal is hugely important because it is totemic ... It was deliberately designed to stigmatise and demean three million people,” he said.
Thirty years after its enactment, Baroness Jill Knight, largely responsible for its introduction, expressed regret if it caused harm, emphasising her intention was for the "wellbeing of children".
In 2009, the then-Tory leader, David Cameron, who had previously backed the law, apologised for its introduction. He described it as a “mistake” that was “offensive to gay people”.
