An Australian mother is considering legal action after her teenage daughter was exposed to sexually explicit content during school lessons, including references to bestiality and sibling sex, without her parents’ knowledge or consent, according to a Christian law advocacy group.
Nicky Gaillard, a South Australian mother of six, said she was “strongly considering” legal action against the South Australian Department of Education following a presentation she gave to Year 9 girls at Renmark High School in March 2024.
Gaillard said the hour-long sessions were delivered by external speakers subcontracted through Focus One Health in conjunction with Headspace and were facilitated without teacher supervision or prior review of the materials. Her 14-year-old daughter was among the students removed from regular classes to attend the session.
ADF International said the class exposed students to “highly inappropriate and sexually explicit material” without parental consent, caused distress to participants and raised concerns about protection, transparency and parental rights in the public school system.
“I want to move this forward for the sake of other children across the country who don’t have to go through what my daughter went through, and for all the parents who shouldn’t have to be shunned like this,” Gaillard said.
The Christian law firm said the girls were removed from their regular lessons and made to attend unsupervised presentations “facilitated by outside personnel.” ADF International said the sessions left students distressed and confused as they were shown sexually explicit material and heard graphic references.
The session’s presenter reportedly mentioned sex acts, including bestiality, but warned the girls to stop, saying, “Google it, though.”
“The presentation also included people having sex with their brothers, and the presenters used the terms ‘sisterly love’ and ‘brotherly love,'” an ADF international press release states.
ADF International claimed that the school did not inform parents of the content of the sessions before the girls attended. They were not given the opportunity to consent or remove the student from the session.
Focusing on diversity and inclusion, images on a PowerPoint screen shown to children during class included images of “trans bodies,” or bodies from the waist up with visible scars from a double mastectomy.
Gaillard has now withdrawn her children from school and is educating them at home. She explained that children cannot risk further exposure to unmonitored and inappropriate sexual content within the school environment.
ADF International said its content was presented across “multiple schools” by Headspace. The education provider allegedly denied Mr Gaillard access to view the PowerPoint materials himself.
“I am strongly considering moving forward with this lawsuit because I want justice for my daughter. She was deeply affected by what she saw that day. Her childhood was cut short by being exposed to completely inappropriate material that Headspace would not even allow me to see,” Gaillard said.
“How can we be willing to show children things that we cannot show adults? Let children be children.
“I also want to move this forward for the sake of other children across the country who don’t have to go through what my daughter went through, and for all the parents who shouldn’t be shunned in this way. At the end of the day, it’s our right and our duty as parents, and school officials need to respect our authority to decide what’s right for our children.”
Robert Clark, advocacy director at ADF International, which supports Gaillard’s case, said parents send their children to school expecting to be educated and safe from sexually explicit material.
“But that fundamental trust has been shattered,” Clark said.
“Parents should not be kept in the dark about what their children are being taught, and children should not be allowed to attend unsupervised sessions that cover adult topics.
“Unfortunately, Nikki’s case is an example of a larger pattern. Parents are becoming increasingly aware that radical approaches to sex education – often shaped by internationally developed curricula and promoted by national activist organizations – are being developed covertly. This case calls for firm lines to be drawn. Parental rights matter, transparency matters and protecting children is not optional.”
According to ADF International, the SA Department of Education acknowledged a procedural flaw and confirmed that parents were not notified. Necessary vetting processes were not followed. There were no teachers. An investigation into the third-party presenter is ongoing.
Education Daily previously reported in April 2024 that SA Department of Education chief executive Martin Westwell described the content of the presentation as “unacceptable” and had “no place in the classroom”.
“There’s a line, and this person crossed the line,” he said, as quoted by Education Daily.
“What makes this particularly offensive is that they have started using words and concepts such as bestiality that have no place in the classroom. This is absolutely unacceptable behavior.”
Education Daily reported that staff did not review the presentation before showing it to students, and no teachers were present.
Principal Matt Evans reportedly sent a letter of apology to parents at the time. He said the school was taking the matter “very seriously” and had announced a review of interviews.
Focus One Health, a nonprofit community provider that receives federal funding, has reportedly been suspended from offering further classes at the school.
