UK Gov't To Impose "Hate Registers" For
British Children Who Make Gay Comments
By Hilary White
LONDON, England, March 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Britain’s “surveillance
culture” is about to take a step forward with
the introduction of “hate registers” for
children who use anti-homosexual epithets in and out
of school.
Late last year, Schools minister Vernon Coaker said
that as of September 2010 all schools will be legally
required to report all “hate incidents” no
matter how small, and keep records on offending children.
Serious cases were to be reported to local councils.
At the time, the homosexualist group Stonewall welcomed
the “proposed duty for schools to record and
report all incidents of homophobic bullying.”
“Schools will need support, confidence and
training to identify and tackle homophobic bullying,
as well as prevent it from happening, and we look forward
to working through our Education Champions programme
to help provide this.”
The plans include lessons for children on “transphobic” bullying
as part of the upcoming sex-education bill.
It is now revealed that plans include a database
of incidents to be kept by the local authorities and
made available to ministers to inform future anti-bullying
campaigns. These “hate registers” will
include incidents involving children as young as five.
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools
and Families said, “Schools should take a common-sense
approach to dealing with alleged racist or homophobic
incidents by pupils.
“If a young child uses a slur, it should be
judged whether or not they understand the meaning of
the word and should be told why these words are hurtful
as well as being appropriately disciplined.
If bullying is not dealt with in schools, then this
will send a powerful message to children that discrimination
is acceptable not only in schools but in society as
a whole.”
But common sense has been notably lacking among
British authorities in the application of “equalities” rules
in recent years, and Christian and children’s
rights groups are alarmed at the prospect of children
being under constant scrutiny and threat.
The Daily Mail editorial comment page said, “Racism
and homophobia are wrong. But these registers are a
monstrous overreaction. They are a negation of common
sense and a victory for the lunacy of political correctness.”
The Mail notes the case of one boy who has already
been placed on such a registry for calling another
pupil a “gay boy.” The mother of ten year-old
Peter Drury, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was told
that her son’s name would be placed on a register
and permanent school record following a complaint about
the comment by another student.
Penny Drury told the Daily Mail, “He doesn’t
even understand about the birds and the bees, so how
can he be homophobic?
“Peter is a very naive boy who didn’t
know what he was doing and is now very upset as he
is now in trouble. It doesn’t mean he is going
to turn into a homophobic attacker when he is older.
He must have picked up the word from somewhere and
thought it to mean stupid.”
Michele Elliott of the children’s charity
Kidscape told the Daily Express, “Children are
being criminalized and singled out from a very early
age when they don’t know what they’re doing.”
# # #
Read more LSN coverage on
The
advance of “political correctness” in Britain
UK
Govt’ measures against “homophobic bullying”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Web site: www.LifeSiteNews.com
By Hilary White
LONDON, England, March 5, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Britain’s “surveillance culture” is about to take a step forward with the introduction of “hate registers” for children who use anti-homosexual epithets in and out of school.
Late last year, Schools minister Vernon Coaker said that as of September 2010 all schools will be legally required to report all “hate incidents” no matter how small, and keep records on offending children. Serious cases were to be reported to local councils.
At the time, the homosexualist group Stonewall welcomed the “proposed duty for schools to record and report all incidents of homophobic bullying.”
“Schools will need support, confidence and training to identify and tackle homophobic bullying, as well as prevent it from happening, and we look forward to working through our Education Champions programme to help provide this.”
The plans include lessons for children on “transphobic” bullying as part of the upcoming sex-education bill.
It is now revealed that plans include a database of incidents to be kept by the local authorities and made available to ministers to inform future anti-bullying campaigns. These “hate registers” will include incidents involving children as young as five.
A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families said, “Schools should take a common-sense approach to dealing with alleged racist or homophobic incidents by pupils.
“If a young child uses a slur, it should be
judged whether or not they understand the meaning of
the word and should be told why these words are hurtful
as well as being appropriately disciplined.
If bullying is not dealt with in schools, then this
will send a powerful message to children that discrimination
is acceptable not only in schools but in society as
a whole.”
But common sense has been notably lacking among British authorities in the application of “equalities” rules in recent years, and Christian and children’s rights groups are alarmed at the prospect of children being under constant scrutiny and threat.
The Daily Mail editorial comment page said, “Racism and homophobia are wrong. But these registers are a monstrous overreaction. They are a negation of common sense and a victory for the lunacy of political correctness.”
The Mail notes the case of one boy who has already been placed on such a registry for calling another pupil a “gay boy.” The mother of ten year-old Peter Drury, of Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, was told that her son’s name would be placed on a register and permanent school record following a complaint about the comment by another student.
Penny Drury told the Daily Mail, “He doesn’t even understand about the birds and the bees, so how can he be homophobic?
“Peter is a very naive boy who didn’t know what he was doing and is now very upset as he is now in trouble. It doesn’t mean he is going to turn into a homophobic attacker when he is older. He must have picked up the word from somewhere and thought it to mean stupid.”
Michele Elliott of the children’s charity Kidscape told the Daily Express, “Children are being criminalized and singled out from a very early age when they don’t know what they’re doing.”
# # #
Read more LSN coverage on
The
advance of “political correctness” in Britain
UK
Govt’ measures against “homophobic bullying”
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Web site: www.LifeSiteNews.com