A senior activist linked to the organisation involved in the recent anti-Pauline Hanson student demonstrations has previously argued for scrapping Australia’s age-of-consent laws.
Sandra Bloodworth is a founding member of Socialist Alternative, the group associated with the High School Anti-Capitalists network and a political force with influence inside the Victorian Socialists.
Her views were outlined in a 2005 article that appeared on the Socialist Alternative website, where she challenged the purpose and effectiveness of age-of-consent legislation.
“I think all such laws should be abolished,” Ms Bloodworth, who also sits on the editorial board of the Marxist Left Review, wrote in the now-deleted article.
In the piece, she claimed that age-of-consent laws fail to stop abuse and questioned whether they genuinely function as a safeguard for young people.
“You could raise the age of consent to 30 without making a jot of difference to the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, youth or adults, because this society denies children and youth autonomy and control over their lives as well as perpetuating oppressive ideas about sex,” she wrote.
She also argued that public debate around the issue was overly alarmist, writing: “A hysterical refusal to acknowledge that there could possibly be a loving relationship between a young person and an adult which includes consensual sexual activity leads to someone who is in breach of age of consent laws being portrayed as a ‘paedophile’ and a danger to all children.”
Ms Bloodworth further contended in the article that certain sexual encounters involving children and significantly older people could, in her view, be experienced positively by the child.
Sandra Bloodworth, a founding member of Socialist Alternative, called for abolishing age of consent laws in a 2005 article
Socialist Alternative and Victorian Socialists have been promoted to students through High School Anti-Capitalists groups
‘Children who have a “sexual” encounter with someone a few years older, or even much older, may well find it pleasurable, even if somewhat confusing because it contradicts what they’ve been taught,’ Ms Bloodworth said.
She described age of consent laws as arbitrary restrictions imposed by the government.
‘In law, no one has the right to consent to anything that can be interpreted by adults as “sexual”, until they reach the arbitrary age of consent as prescribed by the state in which they live,’ she said.
Instead, Ms Bloodworth contended that existing criminal laws are sufficient.
‘Existing laws against physical and sexual assault could just as well be used in cases involving children,’ she wrote.
The article concluded with a direct call: ‘But abolishing the age of consent would be an even better step to take.’
Ms Bloodworth remains prominent within Socialist Alternative, speaking at their Marxism this year in April.
She has appeared at numerous events, including the 2022 campaign launch for Victorian Socialists Northern Metropolitan upper-house candidate Jerome Small.
She also joined Socialist Alternative students at the 2024 Palestine encampment at La Trobe University.
Ms Bloodworth remains active within Victorian Socialists and was a guest speaker at a campaign launch in 2022
Ms Bloodworth continues to write for Red Flag, the official publication of the Socialist Alternative, with her most recent article published in June about an anti-apartheid protest in South Africa in 1976.
Socialist Alternative and Victorian Socialists have been central to the rise of the High School Anti-Capitalists network, now present in every capital city.
The organisations were key players in the recent nationwide ‘Students Say No to Hanson’ protests on August 13.
Thousands of high school and university students walked out of class to protest against One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
Protests took place in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Canberra, as well as regional centres such as Wollongong and Newcastle.
Organisers are preparing a second round of demonstrations for September.
On social media, the group has promoted Red Flag and encouraged students to join Victorian Socialists and related organisations.
An undergraduate involved in university politics, speaking to Our News Outlet on condition of anonymity, said members of Socialist Alternative at student conferences avoided criticism of Ms Bloodworth.
One university student told Our News Outlet that members of Socialist Alternative were reluctant to criticise Ms Bloodworth and her 2005 article when asked about it
‘As recently as last year… when the comments from Sandra Bloodworth were put to them, they defended her,’ the student told the Mail.
‘They said that she raised good points about how children are oppressed through their sexuality.
‘When put to them during student elections by opposing tickets, they refused to engage with the argument, became angry and defensive and then refused to condemn her.’
The Daily Mail contacted The Marxist Left Review and Ms Bloodworth for comment.
In a statement to Our News Outlet, Socialist Alternative said it did not support Bloodworth’s views in the article.
‘Socialist Alternative does not endorse this article, nor do we support repealing the age of consent laws,’ the group said.
The organisation did not comment on Ms Bloodworth’s involvement in the group and did not answer questions about whether information collected from high school student sign-ups was shared or how it was managed.
Victorian Socialists said they were not aware of the article when contacted.
Ms Bloodworth (left) was welcomed at a pro-Palestine encampment at La Trobe University in 2024
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Should activists’ past controversial views affect their role in current student protests?
‘We do not advocate for the abolition of age of consent laws and we would consider any suggestion that we do to be libellous,’ a spokesperson told Daily Mail.
During the August student walkouts, videos posted online showed protesters making controversial remarks, including one student who said of Hanson: ‘I’d shoot her… kill her.’
The comments were condemned by One Nation MP Barnaby Joyce on Monday while speaking to reporters in Canberra.
‘This is Australia. What the hell’s happening here?’ Joyce said.
‘Why are people talking about killing politicians? Who else do we want to kill in this building today?’
