BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

Sado-Masochist Sex for Children

Just when we are certain that society cannot become more depraved, we are confronted with evidence to the contrary and we are forced to alter our naïve assumptions.

A Youth Conference for adolescents between 14 years (the age of consent for sexual intercourse) and 29 years of age was held in Barrie, Ontario in February. This conference was sponsored by the AIDS Committee of Simcoe County; the Healthy Community Coalition and the United Way Young Adult Initiative. Incredibly, one of the workshops included a presentation by "Mr. Leatherman", the producer of an annual competition in Toronto. "Mr. Leatherman" is an "expert" on sado-masochism (S & M) and using his extensive experience with S & M, his role was allegedly to instruct adolescents in how to safely carry out such practices. That is, conference organizers claim that the only purpose of the program featuring S & M was for "harm-reduction" and not to encourage youths to engage in such activity.

In an article published in the ever homosexual-friendly Globe and Mail dated February 24, 2001, the chairman of the board of directors for the Canadian AIDS Society justified the workshop by rhetorically stating, "Can we insist that because of a person's age or sexual practices, they should not be given the information they need to protect themselves?"

It is significant, however, that the flyer promoting the conference did not mention the S & M workshop. In fact, the only workshop relating to sexuality was one entitled "safer sex". This failure to mention the S & M workshop can only have been a deliberate omission, either to prevent the public from knowing about the S & M workshop, and thus avoiding an outcry against it, and/or to directly mislead the youths attending the conference. They would assume, quite naturally, that the "safer sex" workshop referred to normal sexual relations, and not to the deviant sexual practice of S & M. It must have been quite an eye opener for the 25 youths attending that workshop to be suddenly "enlightened" about S & M practices. Unfortunately, the workshop would possibly have the effect of encouraging them to experiment with S & M practices, which they would probably not have considered otherwise and indeed would have provided credibility to such practices by legitimizing the deviant practice of S & M. This result was undoubtedly the underlying but unspoken object of the workshop - which is a necessary first step in the recruitment of adolescents to S & M practice.

Dr. Grant Hill, Alliance Critic for the Family, raised a question in the House of Commons on February 15, 2001, as to why federal taxpayers, by way of government grants to AIDS groups, are obliged to fund such a scandalous workshop.

In his response, dated February 20, 2001, the Deputy Prime Minister, Herb Gray, stated that the AIDS Committee Action Program co-sponsoring this S & M workshop in Barrie was a part of the Canadian AIDS Society (CAS), which is funded by Health Canada. Since 1989, according to Mr. Gray, the 125 AIDS Action Program Subcommittees have given almost $8 million annually to community-based organizations, supposedly to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS. Significantly, Mr. Gray stated that the AIDS Committee of Simcoe, when it applied for the grant for the workshop, did not specifically request funds for the S & M workshop, but requested funds to educate at-risk youths about HIV/AIDS prevention. The decision to include the S & M workshop, according to Mr. Gray, was a decision made by the local AIDS group.

In regard to S & M, the AIDS Committee of Toronto has sponsored a brochure on S & M and also provides seminars for people to meet to explore S & M activities "in a safe, friendly atmosphere". The brochure discusses S & M practices such as restraints, bondage (e.g., nylon rope, duct or insulating tape or steel handcuffs), whipping, temperature play (branding with hot ashes from cigars, cigarettes), abrasion, piercing, biting, punching, bruising and sexual "toys" (whips, floggers) for S & M followers. This type of information is in no way conducive to healthy sexuality for the youth of Barrie - or anywhere else.

This workshop in Barrie should be a clear warning that we must be vigilant about any programs sponsored by the AIDS Committees in our communities. Please write to:

The Honourable Allan Rock
Minister of Health
Brooke Claxton Bldg
Address Locator 0916-A
Ottawa ON K1A 0K9
Tel 613-957-0200
Fax 613-952-1154

To object to this abuse of taxpayers' money by federally funded AIDS Committees.

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS