The Safe Schools Coalition Australia (SSCA) was a group of organisations in Australia focused on LGBTIQ people in schools. Its mission is to create safe and inclusive schools for students, families and staff who are in these groups. The primary activity of the SSCA is the Safe Schools Program that was developed to give support to teachers and schools who had been seeking assistance in the creation of a more inclusive environment for LGBTIQ students and their families.
The program began in Victorian schools in 2010 and expanded nationwide in 2013, in the wake of pioneering work in the 1990's by the Gay and Lesbian Teachers and Students Association, primarily in New South Wales. Schools are encouraged to customise the implementation of resources which are provided. The SSCA is managed by The Foundation for Young Australians and funded by various state governments. In October 2016 the federal government said that it would not renew its funding for the program. In December 2016, the Education Department took control of the program in Victoria.
The SSCA initially received bipartisan support from government. There is opposition to the program relating to sexuality and gender concepts being taught in schools. In response an independent review was conducted in 2016. While some changes have been made since the review's findings were published, it recommended no major changes to the program and found that it was consistent with the national curriculum. The report recommended an increase in the availability of guidance on the use of included materials. Other changes recommended and subsequently implemented include making the program only available to high schools, removing role playing activities and the requirement for parental consent before participation.
In 2017 the SSCA program ceased in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory pulled out (and with Tasmania to pull out) of the Safe Schools Coalition Australia program, with each developing their own programs. As of July 2017, 54 schools in WA, Tas and NT were nominated as SSCA members.
The program is banned in New South Wales, although it is still listed as a resource for Nowra High School and it is claimed that other schools still use the materials.
Membership.
The members of the Safe Schools Coalition Australia are The Foundation for Young Australians based in Victoria, Family Planning NSW, the Western Australian AIDS Council, the Sexual Health and Family Planning ACT, Shine SA - Sexual Health Information Networking &amp; Education in South Australia, True Relationships &amp; Reproductive Health, Queensland and Working it out in Tasmania.
Schools are encouraged to join the coalition as members. The coalition began with 11 founding schools, including Methodist Ladies' College, Bellarine Secondary College, MacRobertson Girls' High School, Hallam Secondary and Princes Hill Secondary College. St Joseph's College in Melbourne is a Catholic school taking part in the program.
In November 2016 the Salvation Army said it supports the program. Later in November that endorsement was withdrawn with the Salvation Army saying that it, "cannot unconditionally support the Safe Schools programs in Australia in their current form". In December 2016 Bega Valley Shire Council voted to support the program. However, in January 2017 the council rescinded that support.
Research.
In describing the aims of the program, the Safe Schools Coalition Australia reports that "75% of same sex attracted young people experience some form of homophobic abuse or bullying... A staggering 80% of young people experienced abuse and bullying while at school", more than anywhere else. The "All Of Us" resource cites research on same sex attracted and gender diverse youth documented in the report, "Writing Themselves in 3", prepared by the La Trobe University's, "Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society". Research on intersex Australians published in 2016 shows that, while 2% of Australians fail to complete secondary school, 18% of Australians born with intersex variations fail to do so due to issues around bullying, discrimination and pubertal medical interventions.
Research on student performance comparing those within to those without the program indicated gender diverse and same-sex-attracted young people did better with Safe Schools.
Safe Schools Program.
The first community-based LGBTIQ youth groups in the fields of social services were established in the United States in the late 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s a sexual risk discourse dominated LGBTIQ issues in education policy in Victoria. Addressing school bullying with practical steps is a worldwide trend. The Safe Schools Coalition Australia provides resources such as this program as part of The National Safe Schools Framework which deals with the wider causes of bullying.
This voluntary program, developed by the Safe Schools Coalition, commenced in Victoria on 21 October 2010, and received national funding of $8 million in 2013. Federal funding for the program was sought by openly gay Senator Penny Wong, the (ALP) Finance Minister in 2013. It was formally launched in June 2014 by the (Liberal) Abbott government. The program is focused on "challenging the bullying and discrimination of the LGBTIQ community within the school setting".
The program expanded nationally because of its success. Content was created by a number of experts in the field. Melbourne High School teacher Christopher Bush helped produce and write content. The program runs in every state of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory, and is planned to commence in the Northern Territory. As of mid February 2016, 490 schools were members of the program, and 86 organisations were supporters of the coalition. According to the official website as of September 2016, 545 schools are members, up from the February 2016 figure when a campaign against the program commenced. In NSW there were originally 120 schools registered, however the education department determined that 89 of those schools had never accessed resources and had no intention to do so in the immediate future.
The Safe Schools Program contains a range of materials from which principals and teachers may choose to include, allowing educators to decide what is appropriate for their schools. Some schools present no classroom material to students. There are four official guides, three official posters and eight lesson plans. Videos are available to accompany the lessons. In 2015, a teaching manual called "All Of Us" was launched, following approval by the federal Education Department. Authors of the manual include Margot Fink, a finalist for Young Australian of the Year in 2016. The guide includes information on teaching gender diversity, sexual diversity and intersex topics. Resource content includes a video of same sex attracted and gender diverse youth, as well as intersex film-maker Phoebe Hart. A children's story book, entitled "The Gender Fairy", released in January 2016 and promoted by the Safe Schools Coalition, explains transgender issues for young children. Safe Schools Coalition co-founder, Roz Ward has compiled the accompanying notes for teachers and parents. Safe Schools material provides advice for secondary students faced with explicit-content-filters on computers and with resistance to displaying LGBTIQ posters.
The material challenges notions of heteronormativity and promotes acceptance of LGBTIQ people. The goal is to achieve an understanding and tolerance of LGBTIQ individuals through education. Students are given the opportunity to challenge LGBT stereotypes. Another aim is to reduce the incidence of depression, suicide and self-harm. Representatives from Safe Schools are available to meet with parents, students and teachers upon request.
Some school principals reported a decrease in same-sex attracted and gender diverse students being bullied. Testimony from students has explained how the program improves the learning environment. There are reports that the introduction of the program has reduced the prevalence of homophobic and transphobic language at schools. In some instances the mere knowledge that a school is part of the coalition has increased the level of safety felt by LGBTIQ students.
Some parents of students who took part in the program have expressed dislike for changes to school policy in regards to bathroom use. Others have expressed concern that they did not know that this "ideology" was being "imposed" on their children. The Safe Schools Coalition actively encourages people to report any inappropriate content.
Reception.
The program has been supported by the majority of state governments, as well as psychologists, gay-support groups and other non-governmental and religious organisations. The program is supported by Beyond Blue, headspace and the Australian Secondary Principals Association.
Advocates for the program point to high levels of homophobic abuse, including in school settings, and high levels of school leaving. Australian LGBTIQ rights activist and academic Rodney Croome welcomed a review as a way of ensuring its funding delivered the outcomes it sought. NSW Labor politician Penny Sharpe has said that opposition is primarily due to homophobia and transphobia. A petition presented by Australian Greens Senator Robert Simms to Parliament in March 2016 contained 70,000 signatures in support of the organisation.
However, the program is opposed by some religious groups, particularly the Christian right, with the program said to be "gagged" on same-sex marriage while the Safe Schools Coalition said there had been "no change to media protocols". The Australian Christian Lobby and the Former National Party senator Bill O'Chee have criticised the program. Former Labor senator Joe Bullock has also criticised Safe Schools. Former Democrats Senator Brian Greig stated that the criticism from religious conservatives echoed the 1997 conservative response to "Here for Life", the anti-suicide program introduced by the Keating government's Carmen Lawrence for gay and lesbian teenagers. After conservatives described it as “promoting homosexuality” and “recruiting children”, the newly elected Howard government cancelled the Here for Life program.
Various aspects of the program have been criticised by "The Australian" newspaper. In July 2015, the Australian Christian Lobby lodged a 10,891-signature petition with the Queensland parliament in relation to the Safe Schools program. The petition incorporated wording from a Safe Schools student resource. However the Clerk of the Parliament would not permit that wording on the Queensland parliament's website because of the "intemperate" language. The petition was subsequently tabled with that offending wording removed.
On 14 February 2016 the education minister, Simon Birmingham, described the lessons prepared by the coalition as having "reasonable objectives". Birmingham stated that controversy over the program was "very unhelpful because the debate that seems to be occurring in the public space is one of whether or not we should be teaching inclusiveness and tolerance in our schools". Some of the negative commentary surrounding the program has been attributed to the belief that young people who are exposed to LGBTIQ issues might then change their sexuality. The current (as of November 2017) federal government's policy is not to fund the program beyond 2017. Resources will still be available for schools to use beyond that date. Labor's policy is to expand the Safe Schools Coalition.
In February 2016, under privilege of Parliament, George Christensen claimed the program exposed students to inappropriate sexual material. Christensen also likened the program to a "pedophile grooming a victim", said the program was attempting to introduce into schools "queer gender theory" and "marxist ideology" that should be limited to universities. The Safe Schools Coalition dismissed those claims in their entirety.
Louden Review.
A review was announced by the Turnbull Liberal/National Coalition government on 26 February 2016, after Coalition backbenchers George Christensen and Cory Bernardi raised concerns over what they claimed was the "sexualised" nature of the program, and forty-three Coalition backbenchers including former leader Tony Abbott had signed a petition calling for the program's closure. The review did not consider the contents of the Minus 18 website, or the contents of the network partners’ websites. The review was conducted by University of Western Australia’s Professor Bill Louden. The process included interviews with a range of individuals and groups associated with the program.
On 11 March 2016 the "Review of Appropriateness and Efficacy of the Safe Schools Coalition Australia Program Resources" was published.
Findings.
The review revealed that opponents to the program had made statements that grossly misrepresented and exaggerated the nature of the program. Coalition MPs who support Safe School such as Warren Entsch said the concerns were being pushed by external lobby groups. Labor leader Bill Shorten labelled the Christensen group "ideologues ... trying to impose a 1950s view of the world".
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"The review does not consider the contents of the Minus 18 website, or the contents of the network partners’ websites, ... ...All of the official resources are consistent with the intent and objectives of the program, in that they focus on one or both of the SSCA’s two overall aims, reducing homophobic and transphobic behaviour and intersex prejudice, and increasing support for same sex attracted, intersex and