Sexual Integrity Forum

SEXUAL INTEGRITY FORUM

8-9th August 2005 Main Committee Room, Parliament House

       'Promoting good quality relationships between men and women
for the purpose of ending the sexual exploitation of women and children
                                        in Australia in the 21st century'

OBJECTIVES OF THE FORUM- POLICY ELECTIVE SUBJECTS

1) Define sexual integrity.
2) Promote the need for sexual integrity in order to foster gender equality, gender reconciliation and healthy family relationships.
3) Promote the need for sexual integrity in media, communications, advertising and the workplace for the greater good of the whole community.
4) Promote the regulation of the internet to curtail the sexual exploitation of women and children.
5) Advocate for the ending of sexual slavery - in particular the end of international trafficking in women for prostitution in Australia.
6) Promote the need for sexual integrity to bring an end to the sexual abuse of children.

DESIRED OUTCOMES OF THE FORUM

The objectives of the SIF were to see all of the above Policy Electives come to pass with a particular priority on immediate legislation and action to deal with sexual exploitation on the internet and trafficking in women for prostitution. See 'OUTCOMES' for actual policy elective outcomes of the forum.

FORUM INFORMATION & LOGISTICS

Speakers & Presenters: The Keynote Speaker for this Forum was Dr. Mary Anne Layden Ph D, from the University of Pennsylvania.
Many Other Contributing Speakers from Australia were also invited to speak on the subjects concerned.
All delegates were invited to present papers in their specific elective policy subjects.

List of Contributors who gave Speeches at the Sexual Integrity Forum:

Dr. Mary Anne Layden Click Here for Speeches
Senator Fierravanti-Wells
Jennie George MP
Jonathan Doyle
Richard Egan
Dr. Michael Flood Click Here for Speech
Dr. Sue Packer
Paul MacRae
David Ramsay
Shirley Woods
Linda Watson
Bronwen Healy
Melinda Tankard- Reist
Jack Sonnemann
Don Craill
Warwick & Alison Marsh   Click Here for Speech

Elective Policy Forums - After several general sessions, the forum was broken up into six smaller elective policy groups, as per the list of objectives above, for presentation of papers and to formulate definitions and policy. Last on the agenda was a general voting session.

Voting - Voting was initially intended to adhere to a Consensus model with 80% majority vote required to confirm policy recommendations, however, a 100% unanimous vote was achieved for all 6 Policy Electives.

Parliamentary Contributions - An open session was held on the commencement of the second day of the forum on Tuesday 9th August from 5-6pm where the delegates of the forum reported to parliamentarians and invited contributions from members of both houses to address the forum.

Publicity - All contributing Papers submitted by delegates and contributing speakers of the forum have been posted on this website as resource material. As expected, a large media interest was shown in the subject matter presented during the forum. Media articles have been posted on this site under 'OUTCOMES'.

Lead Up to the Event - In the lead up to the forum, several public consultation and telephone mini-conferences were held.

Duration - The duration of the forum was two days, from 9am-6pm with an optional dinner on Mon 8th Aug, in the Reps Alcove, addressed by Dr. Mary Anne Layden. The forum dinner was a great success with seats being booked out long in advance and a considerable waiting list of additional people wanting to attend. The forum dinner was kindly hosted by Jennie George MP, and had strong bipartisan support.

Cost -Entry into the forum was free, born by the Fatherhood Foundation, with a minimal invoiced fee for Government Departments upon request. Due to the considerable costs of hosting the forum including International Speaker Dr. Mary Anne Layden, forum costs were raised through sponsorship and donations. Many Thanks to those who were sponsors for this event.

Invitation - By invitation only with letter sent by organisers with letters of support from various parliamentarians. The total number of attendees at the Sexual Integrity Forum was approximately 100.

Parliamentary Hosts, Key Speakers and Supporters of the Sexual Integrity Forum - Included a seven member team with representatives from:
   * 3 Coalition including Senator Fierravanti -Wells, Michael Ferguson MP, and the Hon. Kevin Andrews MP.
   * 3 Labor including Jennie George MP, Anthony Byrne MP, and Lindsay Tanner MP.
   * 1 Family First including Senator Steve Fielding.
   Note: Both Democrats and Green leaders were invited to play a role as parliamentary host and supporters of the event but declined our invitation.

RELEVANT BACKGROUND & RESOURCE MATERIALS:

Dr. Mary Anne Layden PhD
"TESTIMONY FOR the U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE AND TRANSPORTATION"- November 18, 2004

Dr. Victor B. Cline- Morality In Media
"The Effects of Pornograhy on Adults and Children"

Dr. Clive Hamilton
"Can Porn Set Us Free"- Sydney Writers Festival 2003

Dr. Michael Flood
"Youth and Pornography in Australia"

"Regulating Youth Access To Pornography"

Bill Muehlenberg
"The Internet: A Guide For Families"

"Pornography: Is it a Victimless Crime?"

Rob Peters
"The Link Between Pornography And Violent Sex Crimes"

"An Interview with Vernon J. Geberth, retired Lieutenant Commander with the NYPD and author of
Sex Related Homicide and Death Investigation: Practical and Clinical Perspectives"

Michael Cook
"Stemming The Tide of Internet Porn"

Jan Watson
"The Problems of Child Abuse and What the Purple Ribbon Campaign Can Do"

Naomi Wolf
"The Porn Myth"

Unknown
"Addicted to Pornography"

Dr. Stuart Reece
"Sexual Integrity Safeguards Human Health"

Organisers and Convenors - Warwick & Alison Marsh, Fatherhood Foundation with assistance from like minded groups. Invites to community leaders and organisations from a broad spectrum of society who are in general agreement with the need of such a forum, and who concur with the overall purpose of the goals of the forum, in particular goals 4 and 5.

All enquiries to the Fatherhood Foundation on: 02 4272 6677, or by mail to: PO Box 440, Wollongong NSW 2520,   Email: info@fathersonline.org