Conference Plea On Contraceptives (Press, 6 April 1988)
This is a Generative AI summary of this newspaper article. It may contain errors or omissions. Please note that the language in the summary is reflective of the original article and the societal attitudes of the time in which it was written.
Summary: Conference Plea On Contraceptives (Press, 6 April 1988)
A national conference of lesbians and gays in Christchurch, held during the Easter weekend of 1988, expressed serious concerns regarding legislation that restricts providing contraceptive information to individuals under 16. A spokesperson for the conference, Mr Jan Borgdorff, emphasised the need for the repeal of section 3 of the Contraception, Sterilisation, and Abortion Act, arguing that it presents a significant barrier to disseminating safe sex information to young people. Borgdorff warned that the lack of access to contraceptive education could worsen the spread of HIV/AIDS among New Zealand’s youth, stating that delays in repealing the law effectively “sentence” young people to death. The conference highlighted the importance of acknowledging the specific needs of young lesbians and gays in health and education. Ms Ann Barnes, another spokesperson, called for a reassessment of the Education Department’s approach to AIDS education. She suggested promoting positive representations of the gay and lesbian community could enhance awareness and community health. Barnes proposed the Department of Education consider the appointment of lesbian and gay advisers to help train educators on issues related to the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to health-related issues, the conference announced a project aimed at documenting human rights violations faced by lesbians and gays. This initiative would involve setting up commissions in major cities to gather accounts of discrimination based on disability, race, sexual orientation, age, religion, and AIDS status. Borgdorff noted that these categories were not adequately addressed under the current Human Rights Commission legislation. The conference also condemned societal violence and called for a collective effort to improve both awareness and conditions for LGBTQ+ individuals. Overall, the gathering sought to bring attention to critical issues regarding health education, human rights, and societal attitudes toward the gay and lesbian community.
Important Information
The text on this page is created, in the most part, using Generative AI and so may contain errors or omissions. It is supplied to you without guarantee or warranty of correctness. If you find an error or would like to make a content suggestion please get in contact
The text on this page is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 New Zealand