Jump in race complaints to Vic commission

Race complaints to Victoria's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission took a significant jump last financial year, according to its annual report.

Complaints of racial discrimination to Victoria's Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission jumped nearly 90 per cent in one year.

The commission saw a significant increase in complaints overall in 2017-18, according to its annual report.

"We have seen a 20 per cent increase of complaints including, most noticeably, an 88 per cent increase in the number of complaints about race," commissioner Kristen Hilton wrote in the report.

"We've responded to incidents of racism in politics and the media, to explain its harmful consequences, and have continued our engagement with multicultural and multi-faith communities to raise public awareness of racial and religious discrimination protections through discussion forums, information sessions and training workshops."

The commission received 207 race complaints last financial year.

On the back of the MeToo movement the commission also saw a 31 per cent increase in complaints of sex discrimination and a nearly 20 per cent increase in sexual harassment.

"We've joined the long overdue global conversation about sexual harassment, brought to light through the MeToo movement," Ms Hilton wrote.

"It is encouraging to see a public debate to stamp out sexual harassment, and change behaviours that enable it and allow it to go unreported."

However the largest number of complaints were about those discriminated because of disability, with 663 complaints reported in 2017-18.


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Source: AAP



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