Racial equality re-examined

Racial and religious vilification

Approaches to racial vilification vary substantially between jurisdictions, from the US, where the dissemination of racial hatred is constitutionally protected, to the UK, EU and Canada, where it is a criminal offence. Australia currently has civil, but not criminal, laws prohibiting racial vilification.

Religious vilification is prohibited in many of the examined jurisdictions. In Canada, it is treated identically to racial vilification, while in the UK and EU it receives a lesser degree of protection. In Australia, religious vilification is prohibited by some state laws, but there is no corresponding federal offence.

Most jurisdictions (US, UK, and Canada) have laws which recognise the particular harm caused by racially-motivated hate crime; establishing separate offences for racially motivated crime or making it an aggravating factor when sentencing existing offences. There is no federal equivalent to these kind of laws in Australia.

In some jurisdictions (the EU, UK and Canada) there is also an offence of racial harassment which takes into account the cumulative effect of multiple acts of racial vilification and abuse.

Conclusion

The RDA came into effect 33 years ago. It was Australia’s first federal law dealing with human rights and implemented a basic principle of international law: the principle prohibiting discrimination against people on the basis of their race, colour, or national or ethnic origin.

The RDA declared unambiguously to the Australian people that racism and discrimination were no longer acceptable in our society. Since 1975, thousands of individuals and organisations have used the RDA to address racism, either by making complaints of discrimination, or by negotiating policy changes based on the broader principles of racial equality. The legislation has also made possible important developments in the area of Indigenous land rights, culminating in the recognition of native title in 1993.

While these are important achievements, there is still a long way to go before people from all backgrounds are able to participate fully in the life of our nation. For this reason it is important that the RDA continues to be reviewed against the goals it seeks to achieve - a nation where all people are equal and protected from discrimination.