|
Where am I now? Lawlink > Violence Against Women Specialist Unit > What is violence against women? > Hate Crimes
|
Print page
|
Hate Crimes
This page has information about hate crimes and advice about what you can do if you are experiencing or have experienced this kind of violence.
What is hate crime?
Hate crime can be defined as an act or threat of violence or harassment towards an individual, group of people or property, usually motivated by prejudice. Discrimination can also be a form of hate crime.
Prejudice is a hostile and intolerant attitude towards a person or group of people because of their race, ethnic background, national origin, religious belief, sex, age, disability or sexuality.
Examples of hate crime include behaviours such as:
- verbal abuse or harassment
- intimidation
- physical assault
- sexual assault
- attacks on property
What can I do if I have experienced a hate crime?
In an emergency, call the police
If you are in danger or you are fearful or you have experienced intimidation, or physical or sexual violence, you can call the police. The police have the authority to respond to the crime and provide protection.
Talk to a police liaison officer
The police employ Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers, Ethnic Community Liaison Officers, Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers and Youth Liaison Officers. These officers have a working knowledge of the communities they liaise with and are sensitive to the issues each community faces.
You could talk to one of these officers if you prefer. They will help you to work out if what you are experiencing is a crime and they can help you work out what to do next.
Talk to someone you trust
If you have a friend of family member that you trust, you could talk to them about what is happening. Ask them to help you make contact with services that can help.
There are also a number of services that you could talk to that can help you to work out what is happening and what your options are. Some services that you could consider include:
- Lesbian and Gay Anti-Violence Project
- Immigrant Women’s Speakout Association
- The Older Women’s Network NSW
- The Gender Centre
- Women with Disabilities Australia
For contact details of these services, go to the contacts for help page of this website.
Get legal advice
If you are not sure whether what you have experienced is a crime or what your options are, you can get legal advice.
You can make contact with a private solicitor or contact a Community Legal Centre. You can contact any Community Legal Centre but some centres provide specialist advice for particular communities and may be more relevant.
Some specific legal centres you may want to contact (depending on your needs) include:
- Wirringa Baiya Aboriginal Women’s Legal Centre
- Inner City Legal Centre (Gay, Lesbian and Transgender legal advice)
- NSW Disability Discrimination Legal Centre or the
- Intellectual Disability Rights Service.
For contact details of these legal centres, go to the contacts for help page of this website.
Make a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Board
If you are experiencing discrimination or vilification at work, at school or at other educational institutions, when getting goods and services or renting accommodation, you can make a complaint to the Anti-Discrimination Board.
For more information about discrimination and vilification, go to the discrimination and vilification page of this website.
This section has been summarised from Working Well with Women (2000) - a good practice manual published by the Violence Against Women Unit.
|
|
