What is racial and religious vilification?

Racial or religious vilification is when someone has behaved in a way towards you, or just in general, that promotes “hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule” because of your race or religion. This could include severe disrespect and abuse.

Racial and religious vilification is against the law under the Racial and Religious Tolerance Act 2001 (Vic). This includes people working at your prison and other people who are incarcerated.

Examples of behaviour that could be racial or religious vilification are:

• Someone speaking about your race or religion in a way that could make other people hate or ridicule you
• Someone encouraging violence or property damage against people who belong to your race or religion, including yourself
• Encouraging people to hate a racial or religious group using flyers, stickers, posters, speech, publications, websites, email or social media

Examples of behaviour that may not be racial or religious vilification include:

• Prison staff refusing to help you because of your race or religion (this is discrimination, not vilification – for more information on discrimination, use the link on the left side of this page)
• A person being critical of your religion, or debating racial or religious ideas, in a way that doesn’t encourage hatred of your race or religion
• Actions that are offensive because of your race or religion, but do not encourage others to hate, disrespect or abuse people from your race or religion

Remember: it is still racial or religious vilification if the person has wrongly assumed that you belong to a particular race or religion.

Even if behaviour towards you that’s about your race or religion is not severe enough to be vilification, it may be discrimination. For more information on discrimination, use the link on the left side of this page.

If you think you have been vilified because of your race or religion, 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