Book launch and panel discussion: LGBTQ organising in the new protest environment

In-person event

The use of public space for recreation and protest remains hotly contested, as reactions to anti-protest legislation in NSW and other Australian jurisdictions show. 2023 marks a decade since a case of police excessive force at the 2013 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras went viral on YouTube. That case marked a watershed moment in police-LGBTQ community relations in NSW, and was part of a global awakening about the power of bystander video distributed through social media.

Dr Justin Ellis’ 2021 monograph Policing Legitimacy: Social media, scandal and sexual citizenship critically engages with that case and considers the relationship between digital media, LGBTQ identity-based rights claims and police accountability. This book launch and panel discussion provides a timely opportunity to consider how LGBTQ individuals and communities will organise in the face of increased penalties for peaceful public protest in NSW, and unease about police use of platform biometrics and related issues of privacy and consent. The launch of Dr Ellis’ monograph will be followed by a discussion on these issues chaired by Institute of Criminology co-director Dr Carolyn McKay, and between Professor Kane Race, Dr Justin Ellis and Mr Josh Pallas – president of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties. Please join us for this timely and important discussion.

About the author

Dr Justin Ellis is a senior lecturer in criminology at the Newcastle Law School and the editor-in-chief of Current Issues in Criminal Justice, the journal of the Institute of Criminology at the Sydney Law School. His research examines the relationship between digital media technologies, institutional trust and politically vulnerable populations, LGBTQ in particular. His scholarship on these issues is regularly published in high-ranking internationally peer-reviewed journals and in media commentary.

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Tuesday 28 February 2023, 6pm (AEDT)

Venue: University of Sydney, Level 4, Common Room, New Law Building (F10), Eastern Avenue, Camperdown

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This event is presented by the Sydney Institute of Criminology at Sydney Law School.