A conservative American ‘chastity speaker’ who has travelled to Australia to deliver speeches to several Catholic high schools has received a wave of backlash from parents and students concerned about his “problematic” rhetoric.
Through a campaign called “Chastity Project”, Jason Evert promotes chastity among teenagers and pushes extreme messages such as “purity alone makes intimacy possible”. Evert has also written books and created podcasts on the subject where he has compared men to dogs when talking about the need for women to dress modestly.
“It’s like a dog who finally catches the mailman’s truck,” Evert said online. “It’s more than you want to handle. So, when you get the attention of men who want you for that, what’s the end game here?”
Evert has been widely criticised for spreading discriminatory views against the LGBTQI+ community, claiming that homosexuality is a choice that can be ‘solved’ and that trans people are simply misinformed. Other harmful messaging from Evert’s content include beliefs that abortion should never be allowed, including in instances of rape.
He’s known for his talk ‘Love or Lust’, which is the speech he planned to bring to Australia. On Tuesday morning, however, Evert gave an “important update and prayer request” to his followers, telling them that three of his chastity talks in Sydney Catholic high schools have been cancelled by parents.
An online group, MFW, has been tracking the locations of all Evert’s planned events in Australia and directing people to call the organisers with complaints, as well as sign online petitions to prevent his “purity culture” messaging being spread to young students.
The three Catholic high schools who cancelled plans visits from Evert are located on the New South Wales Central Coast. The Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay had organised for him to deliver “Love and Lust” talks in-person to students at St. Joseph’s Catholic College in East Gosford, Mackillop College at Warnervale and St Peter’s College at Tuggerah on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Following online petitions, the three schools have sent letters to parents offering to let their teenagers “opt-in” to a live streamed talk from Evert.
Evert has previously visited Sydney in December 2023 to deliver talks to Catholic high schools.
Previously, in 2020, Evert tried to take his ‘chastity talks’ to Ireland, where it’s been reported that schools cancelled his events due to concerns raised on his stance towards women, sexuality and contraception.
More of Evert’s speeches are still scheduled to move forwards in Sydney, including tomorrow night at Novella Park, with tickets priced at around $100.