Anger over teaching resource ‘Respectful Relationships’ prompts Australian Christian Lobby letter signed by 1850 Victorians
Hundreds of parents have signed an open letter from the Australian Christian Lobby urging Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan to pull gender-identity resources from primary schools.
More than 1800 parents and grandparents have signed a letter to Premier Jacinta Allan calling for “dangerous” school gender-identity policies to be abandoned and an overhaul of sex education.
The explosive letter, penned by the Australian Christian Lobby and signed by 1850 Victorians, obtained exclusively by the Herald Sun, urges the state government to make sweeping reforms to the curriculum, including scrapping any policies that instruct teachers to affirm children’s gender identity.
The Allan government came under fire last week over teaching resource, Respectful Relationships, which instructs teachers to explain to primary aged students that some people feel they “did not get a good match for their body parts” and do not want to be called a boy or a girl but “rather something that is right for them”.
Suggestions include ‘transgender’, ‘gender diverse’ and ‘non-binary’.
In a move that angered women’s rights activists and members of Parents of Adolescents with Gender Distress, Ms Allan defended the program and dismissed concerns that there was a “pipeline” from Victorian schools to gender clinics where some are able to access life-altering surgeries.
“It’s disgraceful, nonsense,” she said.
“I back the respectful relationships program and the curriculum, that is all about protecting kids, strengthening resilience of kids, and supporting kids to be who they are across our schools, to help other kids understand why respecting difference is so important.”
In the letter to Ms Allan and her cabinet on Tuesday, ACL, with the support of hundreds of parents, however, argued that the program encourages the exploration of gender diversity “as fact”, contravenes the “biological reality that human beings are born either male or female” and “confuses” young children about their own biological sex and identity.
The 1850 parent and grandparent signatures include some ACL members.
The Christian lobby claimed that the program contravenes “the rights of parents to teach their children according to their religious and cultural beliefs” which was leading some children to be referred to gender clinics.
The letter pointed to comprehensive research by UK doctor, Hilary Cass, which found that gender medicine was “built on shaky foundations” and prompted some countries to restrict or ban puberty blockers for children.
“In light of this, the Government and Education Department of Victoria have a duty of care to ensure that what our children learn at school will not lead them to experience sex and identity confusion,” the letter reads.
“We call for the program to be reviewed, and for gender ideology and identity politics to be replaced with lessons that foster genuine respect with healthy boundaries in relationships.”
The parents have also called for the state’s “mature minor” policy and LGBTIQA+ Student Support policies which urge schools to support students who want to affirm or transition gender identity at school, to be abandoned.
The mature minor policy allows schools to determine whether underage children are mature enough to make decisions, such as being referred to as the opposite gender.
“If harm occurs to a child as a result of decisions made at school without parental consultation or consent, we can only presume that the Government, the Education Department and the school will bear responsibility and legal liability for breaching duty of care,” it continues.
The Victorian government website says the programs have been put in place to eliminate discrimination against LGBTQIA+ children and to “promote and model respect, positive attitudes and behaviours”.
An overhaul of the state’s sex education curriculum has also been proposed, including stripping content which “encourages” sexual exploration at a young age.
The ACL and its signatories claim that teaching Grade 1 students about genitalia or Grade 7 students about sexual pleasure “arouses curiosity and premature sexual desires, encouraging children to experiment on themselves or on others”.
“A better alternative should involve parents in sex and consent education, and include teaching on sexual ethics, self-control and boundaries in relationships,” it reads.
A Victorian government spokesperson defended the programs, arguing age-appropriate education on sexuality and puberty was an important part of the Health and Physical Education Curriculum.
“We back the nation-leading Respectful Relationships program – every day it makes a difference in the lives of young Victorians to protect them from bullying, prevent family violence and help our kids understand why respecting difference is so important,” she said.
Originally published as Anger over teaching resource ‘Respectful Relationships’ prompts Australian Christian Lobby letter signed by 1850 Victorians
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