Children should be taught about the law on equal rights

The sensible way forward is to open a dialogue with protesters against teaching about LGBT+ rights in Birmingham schools

Protesters demonstrate against the No Outsiders programme at Parkfield Community School in Birmingham (Getty)

The protests against teaching about LGBT+ rights in Birmingham schools have elicited an embarrassed silence among many liberals. While everyone favours the teaching of universal human rights, the fear is that condemning the intolerance of Muslim parents could help to stoke Islamophobia.

As a defender of liberal values, The Independent feels bound to speak up. It ought to go without saying that we defend equal rights, freedom from discrimination and the potential of education to free people from prejudice. We also support the right of parents to bring up their children as they see fit, and to decide how they should be educated.

However, the principle of equal rights is absolute, and in the end must take precedence over the rights of parents. So we stand by the duty of teachers to inform pupils of the law on equality, and we disagree with the protesters who claim that teaching children that there are same-sex couples is “sexualisation”, or that this undermines the authority of parents.

The more difficult question, though, is what to do about the protests, which are disrupting children’s education, and which, as we report today, appear to be spreading.

Headteachers and teaching union leaders seem to be united in calling for the government to “intervene” to support teachers in delivering the curriculum, but without much clarity about what form this should take.

As ever, the sensible solution is dialogue. This requires local leadership as much as national intervention, and an attempt to discuss with the protesters what their objections are and how they think they could be met. It may be that, once parents understand better what is actually happening in classrooms, it will be possible to find some common ground.

Of course, we should be on our guard against right-wing identity politicians exploiting the protests to whip up prejudice against Muslims – although, as Andrea Carlo points out today, they are just as likely to align themselves with the protesters against LGBT+ equality. But it is just as important to avoid polarising the debate from either side.

While The Independent holds to the absolutism of equal rights for all, the language of moderation, toleration and mutual understanding is the best way to defend them.