Booklet: Talking with your child about sexuality and gender identity

The Commission has developed a booklet Talking with your child about sexuality and gender identity to support parents and caregivers to have good conversations with teens and young adults about topics like gender and sexuality, and how they can support them to be happy, healthy and safe.

In plain language, the booklet provides parents and caregivers with guidance around how to talk to their children about sexuality and gender as well as support navigating the tensions between societal, cultural and religious expectations, and their desire for their children to be happy.

This booklet has advice and practical tips on how parents and carers can support their child, pointers on the kinds of reactions or behaviours that aren’t helpful (and why), and an explanation that some behaviours are against the law. It explains how family support can help to reduce a young person’s risk of harm, and help them to live happy, productive lives.

The Commission collaborated with the Raising Children Network to produce this booklet.

We worked with Knuckles Animation Studio to deliver these animations.

This parenting booklet has been developed to respond to questions and concerns from parents and carers directed to community, faith leaders and health professionals on how to talk with young people and children about gender and sexuality.

This booklet is for parents and carers who have learned that their child may be LGBTIQA+ or questioning whose understanding, beliefs and opinions around sexuality and gender identity may vary greatly. It’s also for professionals who work with and support parents and carers.

The booklet is based on academic research from Australia and around the world. It also draws on independent research consultations with parents and health professionals to find out how to explain the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act 2021 (Vic) to families and carers.

You can read the full research here: ‘Parents’ and families: CSP educational needs scoping project: Report of findings’ by Fiona Collis.

For some of the other research about the extent and impact of change or suppression, or conversion practices see:

• ‘Mis-education of Australian Youth: exposure to LGBTQA+ conversion ideology and practises’
• ‘Improving spiritual healthcare for LGBTQA+ Australians: Beyond conversion practices – A community Report’

Conversion practices are activities that try to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. They are also known as change or suppression practices. To learn more about conversion practices see our fact sheet: Conversion practices: an explainer.

You can also look at this 3-minute video that explains Victoria’s CSP Act.

To find out more about the Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Act visit the Commission’s website:

• About the Act
• For families and friends
• For people of faith, professionals and other communities

The Commission is responsible for receiving and responding to reports about conversion practices. If you are not sure if something could be a conversion practice, or you would like to know more, you can contact our enquiries service to talk about it. You can then decide if you want to make a report or not.

To learn more about reporting, see our fact sheet: How to make a report about conversion practice.

More detailed information on how you can report a change or suppression practice visit the Commission’s website.

You can also contact Victoria Police about change or suppression practices.

There are a number of parenting hotlines linked here at Raising Children Network.

There are also other links to parenting support services.

• Staying connected with pre-teens and teenagers 
• Anxiety and how to manage it: pre-teens and teenagers 
• Depression: pre-teens and teenagers 
• When your child is trans or gender diverse: family feelings 
• Teenage bullying: how to help
• Self-harm and teenagers