Knowledge and education are the key pillars of a healthy democracy.
LGBTIQA+ inclusive education continues to be attacked by some in our community with support from some members of parliament. SARAA remains committed to supporting the mental health and wellbeing of all students in school and regards it as every bit as important as academic success.
Recently in South Australia, inclusive education has again come under attack in the form of the Honourable Sarah Game MLC’s proposed Education and Children’s Services (Parental
Primacy) Amendment Bill 2024 (Subdivision 2 and 3). In response to this, SARAA wrote a letter to the Education Minister, which you can read here.
LGBTIQA+ students and young people deserve to learn in supportive and welcoming educational settings where they feel safe, seen and heard.
Providing inclusive education was a high priority for 82% of respondents in our Vision for SA Pride 2030 survey, including LGBTIQA+ young people and their parents who want:
- Better support for and inclusion of LGBTIQA+ students, and resources for teachers and leaders supporting them.
- Comprehensive and LGBTIQA+ inclusive sexual health and relationship wellbeing education in all schools.
We know that 75% of LGBTIQA+ young people in Australia will experience harassment because of their identity. This has devastating consequences for the mental health of our LGBTIQA+ young people, with LGBTIQA+ teens experiencing suicidal ideation at a rate more than five times higher than non-LGBTIQA+ people in this age group.
Sadly, the laws in South Australia still allow religious schools to tell LGBTIQA+ young people that it’s not OK to be themselves, and the longer this goes on, the longer we allow the mental health of young people to suffer.
With LGBTIQA+ South Australians continuing to face discrimination on a daily basis, we need to protect the equality and safety of LGBTIQA+ people under South Australian law.
