Victoria Needs Anti-Vilification Reform Now, Not Later

By Gabrielle de Vietri

For many Victorians, overt hatred towards the LGBTIQA+ community may feel like something from a bygone era. A time when people were criminalised for who they loved, and freely discriminated against because of how they identified. 

A time long before we had annual pride marches, rainbow sidewalks, and marriage equality. A time when homophobic, biphobic and transphobic views regularly ran unchecked.

It would be easy to relegate this kind of hatred to the distant past, the relic of a much darker, more closed-minded time. Yet sadly for LGBTIQA+ Victorians, that hatred persists today.

Despite our community’s resilience and hard-won rights in the fight for full equality, so many of us continue to face harassment, abuse and even violence for being who we are.

And in recent months, it has only become worse.

Anti-Trans Groups And Neo-Nazis

This year alone, we’ve seen anti-trans groups converge on the steps of Parliament alongside neo-Nazis. We’ve seen members of Parliament use their platform to spout anti-trans hate. And a number of drag story time events have been cancelled in the face of escalating threats from the far-right.

All of this has been done without consequence as a result of our state’s outdated anti-vilification laws. These laws were passed decades ago to protect individuals and groups from vilification – that is, behaviour designed to incite hatred, contempt or ridicule.

However, at the time these laws were written, they only protected Victorians on the basis of race and religion. And they have not been updated since.  This means that many other marginalised groups in our society continue to be exposed to hate speech without the protection these laws afford.

The Victorian Labor Government has been saying for years that they would move on expanding anti-vilification laws, but so far, nothing has happened. Meanwhile, the far-right is growing bolder and the threats against our community are escalating.

Time For Urgent Reforms

The LGBTIQA+ community is calling for urgent reform to prevent what we have seen in recent months from ever happening again.

That’s why the Greens have just introduced a bill that would expand our anti-vilification laws to include protections for people on the basis of sexuality, gender, HIV/AIDS status, sex characteristics, and disability.

This would empower Victorians on the receiving end of hate and vilification to pursue a legal pathway to justice.  But more importantly, it would send a clear message to anti-LGBTIQA+ groups and individuals that their hate will not be tolerated in Victoria.

Let’s get this done.

Gabrielle de Vietri is MP for Richmond and Victorian Greens’ LGBTIQA+ spokesperson