TWO former Launceston people have started a petition in favour of more inclusive sex education in schools.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jill Lane and Jack Southwell have written in their online petition that they want to create a national discussion about making inclusive sexual education compulsory.
Miss Lane, a psychology student, said on Friday that the pair believed sex education did not address the needs of students who identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual, queer, intersex or asexual.
"We noticed there was a disparity in what was happening in society where we're living and what was being taught in the school system," she said.
"I think when we were at school sex education generally focused on avoiding getting sexual diseases and so forth, and it didn't focus on what matters - obviously that's important but it is about love and there are all kinds of relationships."
Miss Lane said schools had a large influence on the perceptions of young people.
"We need to teach kids diversity exists and it's not just a heteronormative society and we're not living in a heterosexual world," she said.
"It's not about going into explicit detail, we're just wanting to have that recognised."
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority curriculum general manager Phil Lambert said: " The Australian Curriculum provides for all students to learn about the negative impacts of all forms of discrimination (including homophobia) and encourages the teaching of Health and Physical Education to be inclusive and relevant to students of all sexual orientations."
Miss Lane and Mr Southwell's petition is at change.org/p/mr-pyne-help-create-inclusive-sexual-education-in-australia.