Discrimination

Lesbian teacher - abuse by pupils over homosexuality but not her sex - abuses not discriminatory at time - complainant not entitled to rely retrospectively on human rights conventionPearce v Mayfield School (Governors): CA (Lords Justice Henry, Judge and Hale): 31 July 2001The applicant was a lesbian and worked as a teacher in an inner city comprehensive secondary school under the defendants' control from 1975.From 1991 onwards she suffered from regular homophobic taunts and abuse by pupils at the school and as a consequence she became ill.

In November 1994 she took an early retirement effective from 16 May 1996 and brought proceedings for sex discrimination against the governors of the school.

Her claim was dismissed in April 1999 on the ground that the abuse related to her sexuality and was not discriminatory under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975.The Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed her appeal in April 2000.

She appealed, contending that the pupils' taunts and abuse constituted discrimination under articles 8 and 14 affecting her right to respect of private life and the enjoyment of such right.Laura Cox QC and Sandhya Drew (instructed by Tyndallwoods) for the applicant; Cherie Booth QC and Sarah Moore (instructed by Hampshire County Council Legal Department) for the governors.Held, dismissing the appeal, that since the events that had taken place in the early 1990s in relation to the discrimination of the applicant's sexual preference were not sex discrimination within the meaning of section 1 of the 1975 Act the applicant was not entitled to seek retrospective relief in reliance upon the articles of the convention under the Human Rights Act 1998, which was not in force at the time when the events took place.