The Australian Christian Lobby urges state and federal governments to stop sexualising schools.
It’s reported that in Australia 38% of kids aged between 13 – 15 have sent a sexual picture or video, and 62% have received one. Additionally, 50% of kids between 16 – 18 have sent a ‘sext’ and over 70% of them have received one.
ACL’s managing director Martyn Iles said, “The amount of young school kids engaging in this activity is alarming. It is incumbent upon governments to exercise their duty of care and remove sexualising influences from schools. We are concerned about the impact of programs like Safe Schools, Respectful Relationships and organisations like Project Rockit which may actively encourage kids to explore sexuality.”
“Activists groups like these are making it increasingly possible for young kids to be influenced by sexualised messages under the guise of educational content,” Mr Iles commented.
Wendy Francis, director of the Centre for Human Dignity said; “It’s not the role of schools to promote the early sexualisation of children.”
“Sexting promotes unhealthy and dangerous ideas around sexuality and identity and can seriously harm the development of children’s body image and mental health. There are also concerns around the damage that can be done to a child if images or videos are leaked online,” says Mrs Francis.
