Transgender awareness should not be taught in primary school, the majority of respondents to ABC’s online survey Vote Compass has said.

ABC’s Vote Compass asks respondents to agree or disagree with a series of propositions to explore how their views align with parties contesting the federal election. So far it has had more than 250,000 responses.

On Wednesday ABC released survey results on the proposition that transgender awareness should be taught in primary schools.

Some 46% disagreed with transgender awareness being taught in primary schools, compared with 37% in favour and 17% who were neutral.

The issue of transgender awareness in schools has become controversial after a review of the Safe Schools program.

The anti-bullying program aims to help teachers create a safe environment for transgender students through professional development and access to support resources which can be used in class.

Vote Compass found men were more against the idea, with a third of the male population saying they strongly disagreed, compared with 23% of Australian women.

Of the women who responded, 21% said they strongly agreed that transgender awareness should be taught in primary schools compared with just 10% of men.

Respondents who strongly disagreed tended to be older whereas younger Australians were more likely to strongly agree.

A Safe Schools Coalition Australia spokeswoman said: “Primary schools are a key setting where children may have questions about their gender and gender diverse and transgender students may want to affirm their gender.

“Research and experience shows that a supportive environment and informed responses are critical to ensuring student wellbeing and engagement at school.”

Safe Schools was designed to help teachers and school communities who are unsure about how to respond to transgender issues due to lack of skills and understanding, she said.

“Primary schools reach out to [Safe Schools] for help in creating environments where transgender and gender diverse students are supported to be safe and belong as part of the school community.”

Transgender Victoria executive director, Sally Goldner, told Guardian Australia it was best to start transgender awareness as early as possible, in an age-appropriate way.



“We’re aware of who we are right from our earliest memories, to block that only causes harm for transgender people, our families and others around us,” she said.

“We have young people affirming their identity at any age now, and [transgender identities] can’t be swept under the rug. Young people are aware of it, so we need to tackle the elephant in the room.

“You teach it to keep people happy and healthy. Go to the worst-case scenario – you don’t want to have to explain why their classmate isn’t coming back [in the event of suicide].”

Asked about the survey result, Goldner said it was probably due to a “combination of myths” about trans people and young people, such as that young people are not aware of transgender issues.

Goldner said Transgender Victoria could help spread the word of the need for transgender awareness in schools by “communicating our point of view how we can do better than previous times”.

“We’re not a youth-specific organisation, but the older cohort all had difficult times at school, regardless of the school they went to. We should talk about our individual needs.

“Safe Schools does have a vital part to play as do trans organisations. They’re our lives so we should have a say about it.”