Safe Schools program push for SA children as young as five in Flinders Uni proposal

SOUTH Australian children as young as five should be introduced to concepts such as cross-dressing and gender reassignment surgery as part of a program that aims to promote acceptance, a Flinders Uni research team reportedly says.

SOUTH Australian children as young as five should be introduced to concepts such as cross-dressing and gender reassignment surgery as part of a program that aims to promote acceptance, a Flinders University research team reportedly says.

The Australian newspaper reports that the team recommended the Safe Schools program, which is designed for students in Years 7 and 8, be rolled out to SA primary schools.

This follows a study into the idea in which students from reception upwards took part in story time sessions featuring books with transgender characters and concepts including crossing-dressing and gender reassignment surgery, the newspaper reports.

The push comes despite a report acknowledging many of the students who participated in the study struggled to understand some of the narratives.

The future of the Safe Schools program is in doubt, with the Federal Government due to cease its four-year $8 million support from the middle of next year.

The program was originally pitched as an anti-bullying initiative but has become a politically divisive issue in the past year as details of the curriculum, which teaches students that gender and sexuality are fluid concepts, have emerged.

The Australian reports that as part of the research project, which was funded by Flinders University and the Australian Research Council, six picture books featuring transgender characters were read to Prep and Year One students over five sessions.

Christian lobby group Family Voice Australia described the project as “utterly inappropriate”.

“It goes without saying that most five and six-year-olds haven’t even worked out the birds and the bees yet,” national policy officer Damian Wyld told The Australian.