A South Australian mother is “strongly considering” legal action against the state’s Department for Education after her 14-year-old daughter reportedly viewed explicit,distressing sexual material during a school presentation delivered by a third-party mental health provider, according to a Dec. 2 press release from ADF international.
Nicki Gaylard, a mother of six, says her daughter Courtney was among the Year 9 girls at Renmark High School who attended a March 2024 session facilitated by Headspace Berri, the regional arm of the national youth mental-health organization.
According to ADF, the girls were removed from regular classes and placed into an unsupervised session where no teacher was present.
The presentation included sexually explicit material and graphic references that left the girls “distressed and confused,” the release states.
“The presenters made reference to practices including bestiality, telling the girls ‘don’t Google it though’. The presentation also included people who have sex with siblings, with presenters using the terms ‘sister love’ and ‘brother love,’” according to ADF.
ADF also noted the lesson emphasized themes of diversity and acceptance. Students later told parents that presenters displayed images to the children of “trans bodies” specifically showing individuals with visible double-mastectomy scars from the waist up.
Despite having presented the content across multiple schools, Headspace has refused to allow Gaylard access to view the PowerPoint.
Gaylard says her daughter was visibly shaken upon returning home and subsequently developed an aversion to the family’s dogs, according to an interview with the Daily Mail.
“I’m seeking justice for my daughter, who was deeply affected by what she saw that day,” she stated. “Her childhood was shortened through exposure to completely inappropriate material.”
The release also notes that the school did not inform parents ahead of this session or provide any opportunity to consent or to withdraw their children.
Following the incident, Gaylard withdrew her children from the school, stating she “could not risk their exposure to unsupervised and inappropriate sexual content” and is now homeschooling.
ABC News reported in April 2024 that at least five other parents confirmed their daughters described the same content, saying the hour-long presentation began with slides titled “You can see queerly now” and “No point hiding.”
The department told ABC News the material was “unacceptable” and “shouldn’t have happened.”
“The Department of Education has acknowledged procedural failures, confirming that parents were not notified; required vetting processes were not followed; no teacher was present; and an investigation is underway into the third-party presenter,” the release states.
Robert Clarke, director of advocacy for ADF International, said, “Sadly, Nicki’s case is an example of a larger pattern. Increasingly, parents are discovering that radical approaches to sex education – often shaped by internationally-developed curricula and promoted by activist groups at the national level – are being quietly rolled out. This case is about drawing a firm line: parental rights matter, transparency matters, and safeguarding children is not optional.”
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