Watchdog’s initiative to help victims report attacks

Do you see bigotry, discrimination or racism in your suburb? If you do, you’re being urged to speak up, and a new initiative will help make it easier. Find out how here.

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission’s new initiative will use local councils to help victims report attacks.

People are being urged to dob in racists in the suburbs amid concern bigots are getting away with their actions.

Victoria’s discrimination watchdog fears racist behaviour — especially towards people of African background and Muslims — is going unreported.

It will on Tuesday unveil a new initiative which uses local councils to help victims report attacks.

Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commissioner Kristen Hilton told the Herald Sun Victorians were subjected to racism and discrimination daily but many didn’t know what to do about it.

“This is about trying to help empower communities to understand what the commission can do and the laws we have here in Victoria to protect people,’’ Ms Hilton said.

“Traditionally there are fairly low instances of reporting of racism.

“It becomes a silent, normalised form of discrimination and racism that these communities tell us they put up with all the time.”

New figures show the commission last financial year fielded 188 complaints about race — slightly down on the previous year but up 70 per cent on two years ago.

Complaints about religious discrimination were up 50 per cent over two years to 56.

Cases have included a Muslim man whose employer did nothing despite a senior colleague calling him a “bomb maker”, a woman branded a “terrorist” when she was involved in a minor car accident and African children being constantly benched by their local sports club.

Fourteen councils have shown interest in the commission’s new service with six already on board.

It allows anyone confronted with bigotry, discrimination or racism to quickly report it.

The commission with permission can investigate and help resolve problems where possible.

Criminal behaviour is referred to police.

It could be used to track whether there were particular problems in certain parts of Melbourne or at certain events.

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“Some of the information that those reports generate will be really useful in understanding if there is a hotspot in a particular area,’’ Ms Hilton said.

“It helps us work out some systemic trends that might be happening.

“There is a growing public conversation about not tolerating this sort of behaviour.

“We want somewhere to go to tell that his has happened.

“If you’re at the footy and you witness or you’ve experienced someone calling you a racist name or making racist statements then this is a way of collecting that information.”

The initiative will be evaluated in six months.

The commission is also today launching a series of videos featuring Australians of African background subjected to racism.

They include a woman abused aboard a tram and another racially ridiculed as a child.