*Age Of Consent & Legal Sexual Activity for the State of
25th July
2005 Email to the newly elected Attorney-General
Linda Lavarch asking for her favourable support for urgent reform of the Sodomy
Law. I
inform her regarding the important letter of
opinion sent by Queeensland Anti-Discrimination Commissioner Susan Booth
and of the Parliamentary
E—petition which will be presented in Parliament on
----- Original Message -----
From: Kurwongbah
Electorate Office
To: John Frame
Sent:
Subject: RE: Qld
Criminal Code reform, ADCQ Commissioner writes in support
Dear Mr Frame
Thank you for your email.
I have forwarded your email to Linda’s ministerial office for attention.
Regards
Gai Duffy
for Linda Lavarch MP
State Member for Kurwongbah
Ph: 3205 6779
----- Original Message -----
From: John Frame
To: Kurwongbah@parliament.qld.gov.au
Sent:
Subject: Qld Criminal Code reform, ADCQ Commissioner writes in support
Attention Linda Lavarch
Member of Parliament for Kurwongbah
Dear Linda,
I was advised today that you are rumoured to be the likely new Attorney-General. This would be a very welcome change and I wish you every satisfaction and success in that role.
For the last five years I have been regularly corresponding with Attorney-Generals Rod Welford and Matt Foley seeking reform of the state's Criminal Code to remove the Sodomy Law (which was enacted without debate in the same 1990 Bill which "decriminalised" sex between men). The Sodomy Law actively places the health and welfare of many youth (whether straight or gay) at increased risk of HIV infection, of self-harm and of suicide.
For these five years I have been constantly stonewalled by the Government saying that they simply refuse to commit to reform. I have been personally sickened by the official disdain this displays for the welfare of youth. The reason I have continued to fight for reform is that I know this to be a clear matter of social justice and equity - and I know that the youth most afflicted by the Sodomy Law are consequently those least empowered to act.
Since my last email to you ( 3rd June 2005, as further below) the most
significant development has been that the Attorney General Rod Welford has been
officially advised, in writing, by Queensland Anti-Discrimination
Commissioner Susan Booth that the Sodomy Law is discriminatory and harmful and
that it must be removed as a matter of urgency. Her letter is dated
On
Further proof of popular demand for reform is that a specific current Parliamentary E-petition has gained nearly 700 signatories:
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/EPetitions_QLD/cgi-bin/Petitions.cgi?PetNum=421&PetType=1
That E-petition closes on 31st July and will be presented in Parliament on the morning of Tuesday 9th August.
I am hopeful that the Attorney-General will choose to respond favourably to that E-petition and announce that reform will proceed with urgency.
I know that the Beattie Government has expressed concern that this
reform might cost the a few conservative votes but, on the contrary,
Labor Governments in WA and NT have been returned with much increased
majorities following the same reform. I believe that care for the
health and welfare of
I welcome your reply.
Full details of my five year effort to achieve reform are at http://www.queerradio.org/AgeOfConsent.htm
With sincere regards,
John
John Frame
presenter of Queer Radio www.queerradio.org
on community radio 4ZZZ fm102.1
Ph: 07 3350 1562 / 0409 501 561
Post:
----"There is no substitute for equality"----
----- Original Message -----
From: John Frame
To:
Sent:
Subject: Increased risk of HIV to
From:
John Frame
Ph 07 3350 1562 / 0409 501 561 jvframe@bigpond.net.au
Re:
Qld Health reported their concern last month that HIV infections in
Dear Linda,
In August 2004 I contacted all Queensland
members of Parliament to make sure they were aware of the risk to which youth
are exposed as a direct result of our state’s archaic “Sodomy Law” (Sections
208 and 209 of the Criminal Code). Under current State legislation
‘sodomy’ or anal intercourse is illegal until age 18, while all other
consenting sexual activity is legal from age 16. The maximum penalty is 14 years imprisonment.
Unprotected anal intercourse (i.e. without using a condom) presents the highest risk for HIV infection and yet youth aged 16 and 17 are denied safe sex information regarding that activity (specifically because of it’s illegal status for them).
Many Members of Parliament responded supportively to my email, including members of all Parties and some Independents. I am certain that a majority of MP’s favour reform of this law, however I believe that reform must be enacted as soon as possible especially due to the increasing incidence of HIV infection in our state.
On
On that same day a combined media release
by
On
“The current law causes confusion amongst
many in the community who believe that all sex between men is illegal before
the age of 18” said Paul R Martin of the Queensland AIDS Council. “We are
concerned that young people who are sexually active are reluctant to come
forward to access sexual health services and receive sex & relationships
education for fear of being prosecuted”.
Mr Martin went
on to say “There is no legitimate reason
why the age at which young men and women can have vaginal sex, which may result
in child birth, should be any different from the age at which people can
legally have anal sex. The current law does nothing to protect young people, on
the contrary it criminalises young people who choose to have anal sex”.
On 25th May 2005 Melbourne’s La Trobe University (Dr Lynne Hillier et al) published an important report on a national survey of 1,749 “same sex attracted youth” (go to http://www.latrobe.edu.au/ssay/ ). The researchers found that the clear majority of same sex attracted youth are aware of their sexual attraction by age 16 (if not by 13), that they are sexually active at an earlier age than their heterosexual peers, that 70% had engaged in penetrative sexual intercourse and that only 75% of 15-18 year olds had used condoms in their last encounter. They also found that same sex attracted youth were 5 times as likely to suffer a sexually transmitted infection as would the average high school student.
The La Trobe
report when combined with Queensland Health’s own finding on the increasing
rate of HIV infection is substantial proof that the “Sodomy Law” must be
removed urgently so all youths, regardless of their gender or sexuality, may
hope to receive adequate education, support and protection from school
counselors, health service providers, police and legal services .
A truly equal
age of consent for all sexual activities is also vital for acceptance by family
and peers.
Since
http://www.parliament.qld.gov.au/EPetitions_QLD/cgi-bin/Petitions.cgi?PetNum=421&PetType=1
On
I warmly
welcome your response.
Yours
sincerely,
John Frame
Presenter of
the gay and lesbian community radio program “Queer Radio” www.queerradio.org
on 4ZZZ
fm102.1 in
For full
details of how the history of the Queensland Sodomy Law, its impact and of my
efforts toward gaining this reform since March 2000, please go to: www.queerradio.org/AgeOfConsent.htm
Ph: 07 335
01562 / 0409 501 561 jvframe@bigpond.net.au