By Ashlyn Vice, Australian Christian Lobby South Australian Director
Grassroots efforts led by South Australian Christian parent Angela Rojas have achieved important reforms aimed at better protecting her state’s children from exposure to sexually explicit material in public libraries and educational settings.
This campaign began in 2023 after Angela noticed sexually explicit books being promoted to children and young teenagers in South Australian public libraries.
Despite repeated representations to local councils and resistance from library authorities, Angela gained widespread community support, resulting in more than 5,000 petition signatures from across the state.
We at the ACL echoed these concerns at meetings with state MPs.
ACL WELCOMES “POSITIVE CHANGES” IN SA LIBRARIES
Following engagement with the SA Public Libraries Board, several positive changes have now been adopted.
Libraries have agreed to implement more consistent and age-appropriate shelving practices, ensure explicit publications are reviewed, and establish separate collections for younger teens (approximately ages 11-14) and older.
In further progress, Angela approached South Australian Police (SAPOL) with concerns regarding unclassified sexual education DVDs held by Sexual Health information Networking And Education South Australia (SHINE SA) being freely available in libraries.
After complaints were raised, SAPOL conducted an audit which has now resulted in SHINE SA withdrawing DVDs from public libraries pending assessment by the Australian Classification Board.
SIGNIFICANT OUTCOME FOR SA SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES
This outcome is particularly significant for schools and families.
Educational materials dealing with sexuality should meet appropriate legal classification standards so parents, teachers and students can make informed decisions about content suitability.
The ACL welcomes these developments as a positive step towards protecting children, supporting parental rights, and ensuring age-appropriate access to sensitive material.
The reforms demonstrate that persistent community advocacy can achieve practical safeguards while upholding transparency, accountability and the wellbeing of young people.
Well done Angela!
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