UK: Facebook posts cost Christian her job

According to a report by The Daily Mail on 16 April 2019, a secondary school assistant in Gloucestershire was dismissed after she posted on Facebook objections to transgender teaching in books used at her son"s primary school. The committed Christian also forwarded an online petition opposing compulsory sex education in primary schools. The school felt that the posts contained "language which demeaned its gay, lesbian and transgender pupils". Rachel Niko, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, comments: "According to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, freedom of expression is the right of every individual to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media - regardless of frontiers and beliefs. Furthermore, parents have rights as well as responsibilities in relation to bringing up their children according to their values and religious beliefs. Nevertheless, the school accused the teaching assistant of "˜serious inappropriate use of social media" fearing that the reputation of the school could be damaged. In other words, she is being punished for showing parental concern about the increasing influence in schools of values which contradict her Christian faith. It seems the school decided that this sort of parent is simply too dangerous to employ."