ACDP MP visits with Lovelife

Letter to the Editor

Cheryllyn Dudley MP – ACDP

Thursday, 27 June 2002


Dear Sir

Having visited a Lovelife clinic in Khayelitsha and a Lovelife Youth centre in Langa on Tuesday afternoon, 25 June I came away with mixed feelings, but still more than a little concerned after meeting with children and youth visiting the centres. Precious, wide-eyed little faces of 12 and 13 year olds eager to discover more about the dreaded HI virus and Aids, and enthusiastic participants in discussions about sex and sexuality were a delight, others of this age and older were way more serious and troubled while others proudly recited Lovelife teachings like well rehearsed tape recordings. These diligent students were like bees around a honey-pot. The facilities were impressive, offering everything from sports, snooker, computer training and broadcasting lessons, to HIV/Aids testing and counselling, reproductive health care and Sexuality classes, but then they should be on the gigantic budget of R600 million or more available which includes South African tax payers money.

Lovelife is a brand name specific to South Africa and the brainchild of PPASA.
Staff at Lovelife youth centres, are careful to declare their commitment and loyalty to PPASA, who they recognise as their employer and confirm their belief in and commitment to teaching according to stated PPASA policies and doctrines.

Lovelife say they do not promote any value-system this however is an inaccurate statement. While they do not promote biblical values they strenuously promote humanistic values.

I had the opportunity to challenge Lovelife CEO David Harrison who had arranged the visit, on the issue of promoting Oral sex and masturbation as a preferable alternative to what they term “penetrative sex”. Apart from the immorality of encouraging young people to experiment with oral sex it is risky for two reasons, firstly because they are not safe from STD’s and HIV/Aids and research shows increasing numbers of people are being infected through oral sex, and secondly our children are sexual beings and encouraging this kind of intimate and perverse behaviour will only put them in predicaments where self discipline will be even less likely. Mr Harrison, however, said he was convinced that oral sex and masturbation are behaviour patterns necessary to reduce HIV/Aids in South Africa.

Although I know PPASA’s aversion to marriage, I asked Mr Harrison and other Lovelife trainers whether they ever speak to youth, about sex within the context of marriage. Mr Harrison confirmed that Lovelife would not promote nor speak of sex within the context of marriage, the reason, he said, was that the statistics prove that 70% of all young South Africans will not get married therefore, he said, it is not a viable option in the sea of options or alternatives.

Our visit also revealed that Lovelife avoids where possible speaking openly about the dangers and risks involved in using a condom as they feel it confuses the children and is therefore not helpful. Children were visibly horrified when we asked them how they feel about the fact that condoms are not safe and Mr Harrison quickly rescued the situation when I asked if they knew that statistics reveal that there are, almost 15 failures per 100 sexual acts “protected” by condoms and that the HI virus is 450 times smaller than sperm and therefore 450 times less likely to be blocked by a condom.

Lovelife loudly and proudly proclaim homosexuality as a natural and acceptable lifestyle option and young people are told that should they have homosexual thoughts and/or tendencies towards people of the same sex they are more than likely homosexual. “If I am gay there is nothing I can do about it, that is just the way it is!” said one Langa teenager in a ‘Chill Out’ session on sexual orientation. “Everything happens for a reason, therefore if I’m gay there’s a reason for it” said another young man in the same session.

The teenagers, lead by trainers who profess to be Christian accused the Church of failing to address issues such as sex and HIV and praised Lovelife, which they saw as the solution. “The Church rejects pregnant young girls, our parents reject us, who do we have to turn to? The answer is Lovelife, they love, accept and support us, giving information and options.” a Langa teenage girl said. PPASA successfully lobbied for Abortion to be legalised in this country and 220,888 unborn babies have been terminated in the five years it has been legal.

This is a sad state of affairs as Government continues to take the lions share of South Africans hard earned money through taxes and levy’s etc and churches are left to function on our left-overs, while government gives our money to the likes of PPASA and Lovelife who also operate with global funding, to propagate their value system, surrounded by exciting and attractive facilities every youth dreams of.

Sincerely

Cheryllyn Dudley MP
African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)