What is discrimination?

Discrimination is when someone treats you badly or differently because of your personal characteristics, like:

• Gender
• Disability
• Race
• Religion
• Sexuality

You can complain to VEOHRC if someone working at your prison discriminates against you because of a “protected characteristic” or “protected attribute” (they mean the same thing). This comes from the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic).

What are “protected attributes”?

The Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) has a list of attributes that are protected. They include:

• Age
• Disability
• Employment activity
• Expunged homosexual conviction
• Gender identity
• Industrial activity (like going on strike)
• Marital status
• Parent or carer status
• Physical features
• Political belief or activity
• Pregnancy or breastfeeding
• Profession, trade or occupation
• Race
• Religious belief or activity
• Sex
• Sex characteristics
• Sexual orientation
• Spent convictions

Important: the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) protects you even when you do not have a protected characteristic, if:

• You are discriminated against because someone thinks you have a protected characteristic (for example, if someone discriminates you because they wrongly think you belong to a certain religion); or
• You are discriminated against because you are personally associated with somebody who has (or is thought to have) a protected characteristic.

Examples of discrimination in prison might include:

• Prison staff calling you names because of your gender or sexuality
• Prison staff not letting you do or have something because of your disability
• Prison staff refusing to give you food that you need for your religion or a health condition like Diabetes
• Prison staff refusing to help you because of your political or religious beliefs

If you think someone working at your prison has discriminated against you because of a protected attribute, you can make a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC). Use the links on the left side of this page for more information about:

• Asking for information from VEOHRC
• Making a complaint to VEOHRC
• What happens after I make a complaint to VEOHRC

Remember: you can only complain to VEOHRC about discrimination by someone working at your prison, not from another person who is incarcerated.