Roz Ward, co-founder of the Safe Schools program has been suspended from her role at La Trobe University following sustained attacks by right wing politicians and the Murdoch press.

This program has had tremendous success in reducing homophobic and transphobic bullying at schools. Young LGBTI people are starting to feel better about themselves and the conservative right can’t handle it.

Roz has been the most strident and courageous defender of the program and young people struggling with anti-LGBTI discrimination and bullying. La Trobe university management used the pretext of a political opinion on Roz’s private facebook page for the suspension, which is itself a serious attack on her freedom of speech. But we know that what really motivated this is the hounding of Murdoch’s press and extreme homophobes & transphobes.

We demand that Roz Ward be reinstated to her position and that the Safe Schools program be rolled out everywhere!