They also commented on the opposition to the pride events, stating: “Opposition to our existence in public spaces is part of the increased prejudice, hate and harassment against LGBTQ+ people in this country. This underscores the critical need to resist these baseless attacks.”

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A protest organised by the pride group was held out the front of the council building as the special meeting took place.

Curtin University lead researcher in sexual education and health in young people Giselle Woodley said young people were curious but often felt awkward asking their parents, and so turned to other resources on sex to fill their gaps in information.

She said although protests against books on sex education were well-intended to protect children, they were “slightly misguided and uninformed.”

“It goes against decades of research that actually shows the impact of offering relationships and sexuality educational information – that is that these sources of information can actually serve as a primary prevention strategy, which ultimately prevents violence, particularly sexual violence, before it happens,” Woodley said.

“I think we need to consider that young people are growing up in a completely different environment to what we were when we were kids. Teens are turning to sources of information such as pornography, and there are things like deep fakes and sexting.”

The City of Albany has been contacted for comment.

During a press conference in Albany on Tuesday, Premier Roger Cook urged those charged with ruling on the matter to take a careful and common-sense approach to the issue.

“Last night’s meeting obviously attracted a lot of attention and a lot of heightened debate and language,” he said.

“I would just urge everyone to take a common s approach in relation to this.”

The council is expected to discuss the issue further at the next council meeting in September.

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