Everyone deserves to feel safe in public, on the street and online.
When someone is attacked, abused or demeaned simply because of who they are, they should not be left to stand alone. Our laws must ensure people who use hate to harm others are held to account for the harm they cause to people in our community.
By holding hate to account, we affirm what makes Victoria a great place to live, work and study. We stand by our neighbours, friends and family and their right to live without shame or fear. And we provide people who have been targeted by hate with support and a meaningful way forward.
As organisations representing the wonderfully diverse people of Victoria, we welcome the Victorian Government’s response to the multi-partisan consensus recommendations of the Victorian Legislative Assembly’s Legal and Social Issues Committee report into anti-vilification protections.
People are being harmed by hateful conduct every day, so these laws need to be strengthened without delay. We call on the Victorian Parliament to enact these reforms as soon as possible.
We need laws that protect all of us, that centre the people who have been harmed by hate, and that ensure institutions which are designed to protect us have the powers, training and means to do so.
The multi-partisan consensus recommendations of the Legislative Assembly’s Legal and Social Issues Committee provide a strong blueprint for action to tackle the harms caused by hate in the community.
We look forward to working with the Victorian Government, its agencies and each other in ensuring all of the report’s recommendations are swiftly implemented.
Signed by:
- Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service
- Anti-Defamation Commission
- Victorian Pride Lobby
- Human Rights Law Centre
- Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
- Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights
- Asian Australian Alliance
- Equality Australia
- Jewish Community Council of Victoria
- Gender Equity Victoria
- Thorne Harbour Health
