Parents came forward in outrage last week as the content of a sex-ed video shown at a local high school was revealed to contain a cultural comparison that they believe sanctions paedophilia.
The incident gained traction when a teacher also allegedly came forward to claim they had been instructed to ask their class to draw lewd pictures and had to “endure completely inappropriate commentary” from teenage students.
A worried mother took to social media to vent her concern which prompted many parents in the community to ask whether they really understood the content of the sex education information given to their children.
Concerned mum Kristy Hodder said she received five phone calls from other parents following her social media post which vented her anger at what she alleges is overly graphic and inappropriate sexual references in sex-ed classes of Year 8 and 9 students.
Ms Hodder alleges that her Year 8 daughter returned home and told her that “we have a choice to be what sex we want” and “it is okay to not want to be the sex you are.”
While she recognises the right of people to choose their gender, Ms Hodder believes that her daughter, at just 13 years old, is too young and impressionable to be exposed to that information. Especially, when they had not previously raised the question independently.
She believes it could prompt or plant the seed and create more gender confusion.
Dissatisfied with the subject matter, Ms Hodder spoke to other parents, and it was soon revealed that similar experiences had allegedly occurred with the Year 9 cohort.
Crash Course, a YouTube channel that is largely trusted and widely used across many schools in the country, released a video called Sex and Sexuality.
It was played at the local school and contained content that, Ms Hodder says promotes paedophilia.
The section in question denotes that it is okay for young boys to give sexual favours to older men and reads as follows:
“For example, among the Sambia of the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea young boys perform oral sex on, and ingest the semen of, older men as part of a rite of passage to adulthood.”
While the statement is true, the question remains whether its inclusion in this context is an age-appropriate example to use when educating 13-year-old students about sex.
Allegedly, a letter by an unknown author has been sent to the school, detailing concerns and outlining further situations within the school.
An excerpt from the alleged letter which reads as if it was sent to the school principal says:
“I was completely revolted and angry. This curriculum item is condoning and promoting paedophilia. Paedophilia is illegal in this country. We all know the devastating and terrible effects of this scourge on young people.”
Further into the YouTube video, the commentary suggests that incest is only wrong because society has evolved to support the traditional family network and that it would be “confusing” if your dad was also your brother.
A spokesperson from the Department of Education said that they were aware of a letter circulating online around a health and physical education lesson that was delivered to one class.
“The lesson contained a video presentation regarding gender biology and gender expression, which was not endorsed by the department,” said the spokesperson.
“The school leadership team has confirmed that this video will not be used in future lessons.”
The alleged letter also detailed a separate instance where a male teacher allegedly expressed his astonishment that he had to instruct Year 9 Health boy students to “draw on a piece of paper with a pencil their ideal sex partner.”
In Ms Hodder’s opinion, this would not only objectify the opposite sex, but also put anyone who was confused about their sexual preferences into a difficult, potentially embarrassing situation.
The Department of Education confirmed the letter contained a number of other statements but stated these were all “incorrect”.
Ms Hodder said she wishes there was more transparency around the content of sex education given at schools.
“I think parents need to be fully informed,” she said.
“And not just see the outline of the content but also have the opportunity to see the videos before they are shown – I think parents need to be able to sign-off to say they are happy for their kids to watch it.”
The Department of Education concluded their statement by advising any other concerned parents to contact their school directly.
