The Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission has joined with the Australian Human Rights Commission to release a new research paper exploring the harm experienced by religious communities as a result of violence, abuse, intimidation, discrimination and vilification.
Victorian Commissioner Kristen Hilton said the paper, Freedom of religion in Australia: A focus on serious harms, drew on existing research and first-person accounts from people of faith from many religious backgrounds.
Commissioner Hilton said the paper also made recommendations for Government on improving protections for the right to freedom of religion.
“Australia’s rich cultural diversity is one of our greatest strengths, but we know that many people from multifaith and multicultural backgrounds continue to experience hate because of their religious beliefs and practices,” Commissioner Hilton said.
“This report refocuses our attention on the prevalence and nature of the harm experienced by religious groups in Australia and the opportunities to ensure a more respectful and inclusive community,” she said.
Commissioner Hilton said religion played a central role in the lives of many Australians.
“In the 2016 census, more than 60 per cent of Australians identified with an organised religion,” she said.
Australian Human Rights Commissioner Edward Santow said many people of faith reported that Australia offered peace and freedom to practise their religion.
“For some, our country has even been a safe harbour from religious persecution they have experienced elsewhere in the world,” Commissioner Santow said.
“However, some people of faith have experienced serious harm on the basis of their religious identity in Australia – and this is a serious violation of the human right to freedom of religion,” he said.
The Commissions’ joint 27-page research paper can be accessed at this PS News link.
