Join us to celebrate the release of Dr Roz Ward’s new book looking back at the Safe Schools backlash and the lessons for resistance today.
Ten years ago, a program built to support LGBTI+ students, teachers and families in school became front-page news. The right-wing backlash against the Safe Schools Coalition included parliamentary debates, social media campaigns, and a now familiar Murdoch press-driven campaign against one of the most prominent figures.
Roz Ward, co-founder of the Safe Schools Coalition and long-time socialist activist and organiser, was at the centre of that storm. In Safe Schools and Family Values in an Age of Gender Backlash (Routledge, 2026), Roz explores what the backlash was really about and makes the case that underneath the ‘culture wars’ we are continuing to see a broader social struggle over the role of the family, nationalism and cultural ‘diversity’.
This is a book that is a personal account of a moment in history, a materialist analysis of moral panics, and a reminder of the power and potential of solidarity in struggle.
Come celebrate the launch, hear readings from the book, and Roz Ward in conversation with special guests.
Drinks, nibbles and tunes provided.
