LGBTQ+ Blamed for Women’s Spaces Violation Following Melbourne Spy-Cam Case
Family First National Director Lyle Shelton has called for an end to "gender-fluid ideology" in schools and the restoration of sex-segregated spaces after a Melbourne international student avoided jail time for filming women in public restrooms.
Harry Taruva 
Melbourne - Political party Family First has called for an immediate ban on biological males entering female-only spaces following a controversial court ruling involving an international student who filmed hundreds of women in public restrooms.
The demand follows the sentencing of 23-year-old University of Melbourne Vietnamese student, Bao Phuc Cao, who avoided a custodial sentence despite possessing over 100 videos of victims recorded in public toilets.
Phuc Cao is a student at The University of Melbourne
Police reports indicate that when apprehended, Cao claimed he entered the women’s facilities because he was "not sure" about his gender.
Family First National Director and New South Wales Legislative Council candidate, Lyle Shelton, said the case serves as a disturbing illustration of the consequences of normalising gender fluidity in law and education.
"When a man can enter a women’s toilet and tell police he is ‘not sure about his gender’, it shows just how far our society has drifted from common sense," Shelton said.
"This case is about far more than one offender. It highlights the cultural confusion being created by politicians and activists who assert that gender is fluid," he said.
Family First National Director and New South Wales Legislative Council candidate, Lyle Shelton
The Melbourne Magistrates Court heard that Cao was a repeat offender and that his actions had caused significant psychological distress to his victims.
While Cao now faces potential deportation following a review of his visa status by the Department of Home Affairs, Family First argued that the underlying ideological issues remain unaddressed.
Shelton criticized both major political parties for allowing gender identity concepts to be taught in the school system, asserting that such programs undermine biological reality and compromise the safety of women and girls.
"Women and girls deserve privacy and safety. That cannot exist if men are allowed to enter female spaces simply by asserting they are a woman," Shelton said.
"Labour and Liberal politicians continue to tolerate and promote the teaching of gender fluid ideology to children in schools.
"That ideology tells boys they might really be girls and that biological reality doesn’t matter," he stated.
The party has reaffirmed its platform to restore legal protections specifically for biological women in change rooms, prisons and sporting competitions.
Family First representatives argued that incidents of this nature will persist until the government renounces the influence of activist lobby groups.
"Our daughters deserve privacy and safety," Shelton said, adding that "Family First will fight to restore common sense because women’s spaces must be for women."
The Department of Home Affairs is reportedly continuing its review of Cao’s residency status amid widespread public outcry over the leniency of the initial sentence.
