Dear Section 28 is a platform for collecting evidence on the impact of Section 28 in schools and wider sectors including libraries, public services, institutions and the arts and cultural sector. Mainly, it is an archive of letters addressed directly to Section 28.
Section 28 was part of the Local Government Act 1988, which prohibited local authorities in England, Wales and Scotland from “promoting homosexuality” or publishing material with the “intention of promoting homosexuality” — including in schools. It remained law in England and Wales until 2003, and in Scotland until 2000.
Section 28 was in place for 15 years. We know from research that the law used fear to censor people and queer lives.
Organisations cancelled LGBTQ+ funding for health services, and cultural programming. Teachers reported being silenced by fear, and unable to support young people. And the children at school during this period often refer to Section 28 as a silence.
No one was ever prosecuted. It was a state sponsored silence that censored LGBTQ+ lives, using fear as an intimidation tactic.
Sarah Drummond, the Director of an upcoming documentary on Section 28 is the originator of the project Dear Section 28. It is part of a wider Section 28 Justice Coalition to aid the collection of evidence of the impact of Section 28.
The idea for a film originated just under 10 years ago, when Sarah attended BFI Flare Film Festival. She saw a film with a short clip of a ‘Never Going Underground March’ from 1988. In its brief clip on the screen she saw a banner saying ‘Stop the Clause’ and mumblings of Section 28. She googled it when she went home, and learned about the law that impacted her for the first time.
Nearly a decade on, nearing completion of her film she hosted a conference: After Section 28: LGBTQ+ Rights in an Age of Censorship and Backlash bringing together an intergenerational audience of people she's met along the making of her film and journey. In a breakout session a group came back with the idea of a public petition for an inquiry into Section 28.
Through this the Section 28 Justice Coalition was born and Dear Section 28 joined as part of the effort to collect impact and evidence for the inquiry.
Dear Section 28 Letters: These can be written in any way you like. We imagine these could include memories, records of impact on people during Section 28, historical snapshots of joyous and difficult times during this period in fighting back against the law and/or the experience of working and growing up under it. They can be poetic, straight to the point, memory based, or questioning.
Impact statements: These are similar to the letters but are specific logs of impact on you personally, observed impact on others or impact on something you were working on at the time. If they can be, it is helpful to have supportive evidence (news clipping, document) but this is not essential.
Research and Resources: We are looking for research that looks at the wider impact of Section 28 that can be shared publicly. It may be a longitudinal study, an academic paper or body of work, or collated evidence on the impact of Section 28. Please let us know in the following submission questions if your research or resource is openly accessible for anyone to access, and if we can link to it in the future on this platform. If not, please be specific on how we can use your submission.
Historical accounts: We are looking for historical accounts. These could include written histories of Section 28 or defined periods in the lead up to, during or post Section 28 that can tell us more about this time, and offer new perspectives, in particular unheard voices. Please let us know in the following submission questions if your historical account is openly accessible for anyone to access, and if we can link to it in the future on this platform. If not, please be specific on how we can use your submission.
Anyone.
Whether you lived under this law or not, anyone can write a letter. It may be students who couldn't ask questions. Teachers who couldn't answer them. Parents, librarians, youth workers, protestors, campaigners with stories and records to share. Anyone whose life was shaped by this law during it, in the lead up, and after. It may be that you were not born when Section 28 was in place, but you are reflecting on it now.
We are collecting these letters to bear witness, to build a record, and to ensure this history is not forgotten. The letters will form part of a wider inquiry into the impact of Section 28 we are petitioning for.
There are other ways to submit your experiences including impact statements, research, or historical reviews and accounts.
There are a number of ways you can support Dear Section 28 and our wider work for the Section 28 Justice Coalition:
If you would like to run a physical workshop for us at an event like Pride, in your institution or somewhere else, please get in touch and we can send you a digital pack for printing locally with instructions on how to send the letters/evidence back or upload entries.
We may reach out to people to publicly perform the letter for the documentary ‘Don't Say Gay’ on Section 28. When submitting your letter, please indicate if you are open to take part in this. Filming is likely to take place in autumn 2026.
If you have questions or specific queries about the Dear Section 28 project in relation to how the content will be used or getting involved, please contact us on section28film (@) gmail.com.
If you have questions, or want to get involved in our wider campaign on justice for Section 28, please contact our Section 28 Justice Coalition email.