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A recent poll of 1,500 Victorians found that 57 per cent oppose gender ideology in primary schools, with 73 per cent opposing puberty-suppressing drugs for children.

A majority of Victorians oppose schools teaching children gender ideology, according to a new survey — with the largest single group not merely opposed, but strongly opposed.

“For years, many Victorian parents suffered in silence. They believed they were alone, or that something was wrong with their parenting,” Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) Victorian Director Jasmine Yuen said, in reflecting on the results. “But people are now speaking up about what is happening in school programs and culture.”

The figures come from an ACL-commissioned poll of 1,500 Victorians. Conducted by Pollfish between March 5 and 18, the poll found that 57 per cent of Victorians oppose gender ideology being taught in primary schools.

Fifty-three per cent oppose the same content being taught in secondary schools, versus 26 per cent in support.

Strong opposition outweighed every other response category: more Victorians strongly oppose gender ideology in schools than chose any other response option.

On medical questions, the numbers were higher still. More than 73 per cent oppose children accessing puberty-suppressing drugs or cross-sex hormones. More than 65 per cent say children should not access gender-related health services without parental notification, and 55 per cent oppose taxpayer funding for sex-change procedures.

The poll, which was reported by the Herald Sun, also found that opposition was highest — at 75 per cent — on the question of biological males being held in women’s prisons.

The same newspaper has previously reported that among the transgender-identifying men who have been housed in women’s prisons are convicted murderers and paedophiles.

School Programs

Victoria’s Respectful Relationships program was introduced in 2016 following the state’s family violence royal commission, and currently teaches children as young as five that gender is not binary.

The program explicitly instructs teachers to strip gendered language — using “siblings” rather than “brothers and sisters” — and promotes “non-binary” as “an umbrella term for gender identities that sit within, outside of, across or between the spectrum of the ‘man/woman’ or ‘boy/girl’ binaries.”

Speaking with the Herald Sun, a government spokesperson defended the program as “nation-leading”, adding that it was developed by experts and has since been expanded to Catholic and independent schools. “In Victoria, equality is not negotiable,” she stated.

Last year, more than 1,800 parents and grandparents signed an ACL letter to Premier Jacinta Allan urging her to remove “dangerous” gender identity policies from schools.

The ACL is now calling on both Victoria’s government and opposition to respond to the new findings ahead of the state election in November.

AHRC Report

The poll results landed days after the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) released a report on “International Trans Day of Visibility”.

In its report, the AHRC urged governments to end pauses on puberty-suppressing drugs and strip religious freedom protections from faith-based schools.

ACL chief executive Michelle Pearse argued the commission’s conclusions rested on thin ground. “When 1,500 everyday Victorians were randomly surveyed — with no promotion from ACL, no stacking, no pre-selection — the results were clear,” she said, contrasting the ACL poll with the AHRC report that was “based on just 97 submissions”.

Pearse added that the commission had named the ACL among organisations “they want silenced”.

Pearse said the ACL intends to commission national research. “If even in Victoria — where the government’s response was ‘equality is not negotiable’ — the numbers are this clear,” she said, “imagine what they would look like nationally.”

“We want to find out. Research like this lets everyday Australians cut through the blur of ideology and spin, and speak for themselves.”

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