*Age Of Consent & Legal Sexual Activity for the State of
14th July
2005 Letter from
Parents and
friends of Lesbians and gays – support group
c/- Queensland AIDS Council,
PO Box 3142,South Brisbane. 4101
Email: pflagbris@hotmail.com
Phone: 07 3017 1739
Hon. Premier Peter
Beattie,
Parliament House,
George Street,
Brisbane. 4001
Dear Sir,
Reform of Sodomy Laws
We are writing this letter
in support of the need for reform to Sodomy laws. Parents and Friends of
Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) believe that it is time for the “age of consent” to
show equality for all by making the age of consent 16years of age which will
remove confusion and another inequality affecting the gay youth.
We all know, whether
we approve or not that the present generation are engaging in sexual
intercourse at quite an early age and we believe that gay youth need as much
information as possible to keep them safe.
Presently, it seems
that many lack access to safe sex information because of their fear of
accessing legitimate agencies for safe sex information and secondly because of
the confusion amongst workers about legal ramifications involved with supplying
gay youth with relevant information.
Sexual equality
doesn’t mean that gay youth will be more permissive. Studies show that
providing teenagers with safe sex information does not make them engage in
sexual intercourse earlier but it does show that if they do they are more
inclined to use protection and be more informed about their actions. The studies that I personally have seen show
that in some cases good sexuality education sometimes delays their decisions to
begin a sexual relationship. As a parent
group we want our youth to be able to access information without fear of
prosecution or reprisals for all concerned.
A problem for gay
youth is they already feel marginalised with little or no positive reference
made to homosexuality by school counsellors, peers, relationship education and
families in general. And, because of this are more inclined to be at a higher
risk of drug taking, alcohol abuse and suicide.
Research shows that
gay youth are 7 times more likely to consider suicide and 6 times more likely
to be homeless than heterosexual youth. This clearly shows our children are
high risk and often with low self esteem. These two factors often lead to
unnecessary risk taking in sexual activity which can be a grave concern for
parents.
A large concern for
many is the fear of exploitation by sexual predators but research shows that
gay youth are no more exposed to this than heterosexual youth with the age of
consent being at 16 years for them. PFLAG parents want the government to
provide the same rights for our gay youth as our heterosexual youth.
We strongly believe
and urge the State government to reconsider these laws and amend them as
quickly as possible.
Yours truly,
Shelley Argent
(Convenor)
Parents and Friends
of Lesbians and Gays.