In 2010, schools in Victoria began an anti-bullying program for teachers, to help them create a more inclusive environment for LGBTIQ students and their families.

Three years later the Safe Schools Program expanded nationwide, with bipartisan political support.

But by 2016, the Program was becoming increasingly controversial, and a year later the majority of Australian schools had bowed out.

At the centre of the argument, both sides insisted, was the safety of kids in schools.

But what happens when kids are caught in a collision between ill-equipped teachers and a media scandal?

Writer Benjamin Law has investigated for the latest Quarterly Essay.

Further Information

Moral Panic 101: Equality, Acceptance and the Safe Schools Scandal is published by Black Inc

Richard's 2013 conversation with Ben