OutRage! sends Section 28 Proposals to Scotland’s Donald Dewar

REPEAL BILL MUST BE AMENDED

Guidelines Needed to Reassure Anxious Parents

OutRage! has written to Scotland’s First Minister, Donald Dewar, urging him to include in the Bill for the repeal of Section 28 legally-binding guidelines on the teaching of sexuality issues in schools.

OutRage! says the guidelines are necessary to reassure anxious parents and refute the campaign of misinformation being peddled by Cardinal Winning and the Keep the Clause lobby.

A letter has been sent by OutRage! to Donald Dewar and Wendy Alexander at the Scottish Executive, proposing the following guidelines for inclusion in an amended Section 28 repeal Bill. — Schools should not promote or encourage any form of sexuality.

All sexual orientations must be discussed in an honest, factual manner.
Pupils should be offered practical advice on how to refuse and report unwanted sexual advances, practise safer sex to stop the spread of HIV, and how to sustain, happy, fulfilling relationships.

There must be a legal obligation on schools to educate students to make responsible sexual and emotional choices based on mutual consent, respect, and love.

Teachers should be required to challenge prejudiced, intolerant antigay attitudes, combat homophobic teasing and bullying, and provide supportive advice and counselling to vulnerable lesbian and gay pupils.

The aim must be to encourage understanding and acceptance of other people –heterosexual, homosexual, and bisexual– and to create a caring, compassionate society that values and appreciates everyone.

“I challenge Cardinal Winning and the Keep the Clause campaigners to disagree with anything in our proposed guidelines. If they accept this compromise, I am ready to work with them to press Donald Dewar to amend the Section 28 Bill”, said Mr. Tatchell.