Family Planning Queensland

Family Planning Queensland
Abbreviation FPQ
Motto Sexual and Reproductive Health for All
Type NGO
Purpose To promote and achieve sexual and reproductive health
Headquarters Fortitude Valley, Brisbane
Region served
 Queensland
Chairperson
 Annabel Hickey[1]
Parent organisation
 Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia
Website www.fpq.com.au

Family Planning Queensland (FPQ) is a not-for-profit Queensland organisation offering clinical, education, and information services through its nine regional centres. FPQ also provides clinical training in all aspects of sexual and reproductive health, and has a comprehensive resource catalogue to support teachers, parents and young people. It offers clinical services, sexual education for school children and adults, and sexual health information services in its nine branches across Queensland. It is a member of the national Family Planning network Sexual Health and Family Planning Australia (SH&FPA), which is the Australian national affiliate of the International Planned Parenthood Federation. FPQ’s tagline is Sexual and Reproductive Health for All.[2]

Today FPQ works in nine regional centres located in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast. From these sites FPQ provides a range of clinical, education, training and information services in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

History

The oral contraceptive pill became available in Australia in 1961 against a backdrop of great social and political change. Until 1969 however, New South Wales was the only state to offer family planning services through the Family Planning Association of Australia. In the subsequent few years, independent family planning associations were formed in all the other states.

Queensland remained relatively conservative, especially about sexuality. Sexuality education in schools was minimal, teenage pregnancy in Queensland was the highest in Australia, abortion was illegal and access to contraception was limited. Marriage was usually a pre-requisite for contraceptive counselling. In 1970, the Queensland branch of the Abortion Law Reform Association (later Children by Choice) was formed, and along with the Queensland branch of Women’s Electoral Lobby started campaigning for family planning facilities, sex education in schools and legal and safe abortion.

Within this context, FPQ was formed following a two-day conference with the joint sponsorship of the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners. Its aims were to provide clinic and training facilities, and to make information freely available.

The first FPQ clinic opened in Fortitude Valley in March 1972 with the aid of volunteer members. Voluntary committees established services in Cairns, Townsville, and Rockhampton later in 1972, and at the Gold Coast the following year. In 1974, with funding provided by the Commonwealth government, clinics opened in Ipswich and Mount Gravatt. The Toowoomba and Sunshine Coast centres were established in 1986 and 1989 respectively.

Today FPQ works in nine regional centres located in Cairns, Townsville, Rockhampton, Bundaberg, Sunshine Coast, Brisbane, Ipswich, Toowoomba and the Gold Coast. From these sites FPQ provides a range of clinical, education, training and information services in the area of sexual and reproductive health.

Funding

The majority of FPQ’s funding comes from Queensland Health, a department of the Queensland Government. With this funding, FPQ provides a comprehensive range of clinical, educational and training activities and resources on sexual and reproductive health. FPQ is also funded by different departments of the Queensland Government to coordinate specific projects ranging from the Correctional Facilities Education Project to the counselling services provided to children and families by the Cairns Sexual Assault Service. FPQ supplements revenue through education, clinic and training service fees; resource and product sales; and venue hire. In addition, FPQ receives financial support from individual members and donors.

Services

The organisation's missions is to promote and achieve sexual and reproductive health for all. This will be achieved through excellence in clinical services, education, and research and policy development. FPQ offers a range of sexual and reproductive health services to the wider population of Queensland. FPQ offers clinical, education and training services from metropolitan and regional locations throughout the state. The services offered by FPQ can be divided into two sections: clinical and educational.

Clinical

FPQ’s clinics support women and men of all ages. FPQ offers confidential sexual and reproductive health services. FPQ nurses and doctors support young people to make informed decisions about their sexual health and relationships. 21,663 people visited FPQ’s clinics across Queensland during 2009.[3] Within these clinics, FPQ offers a number of services related to contraception, such as emergency contraception, hormonal contraception methods including pills, implants and injections, diaphragm fitting, assessment for and fitting of Intrauterine devices (IUD) and vasectomy.

It also provides sexual health checks for its patients. These checks can include testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV testing and STI prevention services

Other services offered by FPQ clinics include pap smears, breast examinations, pre-pregnancy planning, pregnancy testing and counselling, menopause assessment and information, sub fertility assessment and information, sexual difficulties assessment and information and assessment of menstrual problems

Educational

FPQ acknowledges parents and carers as the primary sexuality educators of their children. FPQ’s family sexuality education programs are designed to build communication between parents and carers and their children.

Their educators provide sexual information for primary and high school students, tertiary students, parents and families, youth groups, people with disabilities and their carers, older people, people from non-English speaking backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and other community groups.

FPQ also offers professional training for medical practitioners, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, teachers and childcare workers, health and welfare workers, youth workers, and disability workers. In 2009, 23,053 health professionals participated in the FPQ’s workforce program, and 37,370 people participated in its community education programs.[4]

In addition to this, FPQ has a reference library of sexual health information in its Fortitude Valley headquarters, and also produces brochures, posters, fact sheets, videos, books and other educational resources.

Current activities

Family Planning Queensland’s key programs and services

Focus areas

Criticism

In the 1970s and early 1980s, conservative commentators and politicians criticised organisations like FPQ for offering sexual education in schools. One notable critic of sex education was the then Queensland Premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who made this assessment of New South Wales’ sex education programs in March 1981:

NSW has become an object lesson in so many ways for other States on what you must not do if you wish to maintain decent standards. Morally, the subject [of sexual education] is fraught with danger for any government.[5]

One major criticism of sexual education during that period was that it would encourage students to engage in unsafe sex practices. Morality campaigner Rona Joyner was quoted as saying that ‘sex education and pornography are synonymous’.[6] Professor James Likoudis, a former Catholic priest, also opposed the sexual education push, claiming that sex education corrupts children.[7]

It is time to stop the senseless experimentation with children and the exploitation of children by so-called professional educators who seek to use the school for their own ideological ends…Sex education has its origins in the efforts of family planners to impose contraceptive- abortion- population control society upon all, through the schools.[7]

Praise

The progressiveness of FPQ has drawn praise from several media commentators. In a feature in a November 1997 issue of The Australian Magazine, Kate Legge says that ‘Queensland bucks its reputation as a conservative redneck State with the cutting-edge sex education program [offered by FPQ]’.[8] The work of FPQ led the reluctant Queensland Government to allow the screening of films about sexuality in 1981,[9] and these films paved the way for the introduction of FPQ-run sex education classes into primary and secondary Queensland schools. Roxanne Davis, an FPQ coordinator, described the response to these classes from the majority of students as being ‘overwhelmingly positive’.[10] Today, FPQ receives great support in Queensland newspapers, and visits to the FPQ clinics are at an all-time high of 21,663 people per year.[4] The not-for-profit organisation continues to operate successfully after over 25 years of service to the people of Queensland.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.fpq.com.au/enews/July15/Board%20Update.php
  2. ↑ Family Planning Queensland. 26 October 2010.
  3. ↑ Family Planning Queensland. ‘Fact Sheet’. Jun. 1997. Print.
  4. 1 2 Family Planning Queensland, 'Annual Report 08-09' Family Planning Queensland, n.d.,Web. 26 Oct. 2010.
  5. ↑ Hancock, David. “Sex Lessons Please Parents and Teachers, but not Joh.” The Australian 19 Mar. 1981. Print.
  6. ↑ No Author. 'Ban All Sex Classes says Rona.' Sunday Sun 22 Mar. 1981. Print.
  7. 1 2 No Author. 'Sex Education Corrupts Children, claims Prof.' Cairns Post 2 Jun. 1981. Print.
  8. ↑ Legge, Kate. 'Beyond the Cabbage Patch.' The Australian Magazine 29 Nov. 1997. Print.
  9. ↑ No Author. ‘New Sex Films to Educate’ Daily Telegraph, 21 Dec. 1981. Print.
  10. ↑ Davis, Roxanne.'Healthy Record' Townsville Local 30 Mar. 1990. Print.

External links

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