An interesting article on the Personnel Today website about homophobia.
Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation may be against the law, but many 'out' employees continue to experience homophobia in the workplace. Sophie Hudson investigates.
Former teacher Sue Sanders spent much of 1989 vigorously campaigning on television against Section 28, the law banning councils and schools from intentionally promoting homosexuality. Little did she know it would result in her boss siding with a parent who complained that her daughter was being taught by "a lesbian". The headmistress told the parent that Sanders would no longer teach the girl, and Sanders soon moved to another school.
Move forward two decades. In 2009 Jim Craven (not his real name), a gay English teacher at a mixed school, who is "camp as Christmas" according to a friend, was asked some very personal questions by some students during a class. They wanted to know why he didn't have a girlfriend or wife, making Craven feel increasingly uncomfortable. He went to his boss, the headmaster, to ask for his advice and support. In response he was told to buy a cheap wedding ring and frame a picture of his sister so he could put it on his desk and pretend she was his wife.
It is worth a read in highlighting the failure of law to impact the real lives of people.