The Victorian Government is currently conducting an Engage Victoria process around reforming Victoria’s anti-vilification laws. What does this have to do with VMIAC and you? Simon Katterl, a person with lived experience of mental health issues and a human rights advocate, explains why these laws should be changed to address stigma and discrimination.
Submissions remain open until 1 September 2023.
Many of may have experienced stigma and discrimination. It may be something someone said to you, how they may have used a mental health status[GA1] to discredit you, or you may have overhead others using derogatory terms like ‘schizo’ or ‘psycho’.
These forms of stigma and discrimination can cause real harm. But while they’re morally wrong, are they unlawful?
Victoria – as well as other states and territories – have anti-vilification (sometimes called ‘hate speech’) laws. Unlike discrimination, where you may be refused access to somewhere or not given a job because of a mental health diagnosis, vilification laws protect against the words people use to hurt us. Obviously, discrimination and vilification can overlap and happen at the same time.
Unlike discrimination, where you may be refused access to somewhere or not given a job because of a mental health diagnosis, vilification laws protect against the words people use to hurt us…
Unfortunately, Victoria’s anti-vilification laws do not protect people with lived experience of distress or mental health issues from vilification.
Unfortunately, Victoria’s anti-vilification laws do not protect people with lived experience of distress or mental health issues from vilification. Victoria’s anti-vilification laws are in fact very narrow: they only protect people against vilification based on race and religion. While these protections are important, these narrow laws leave a lot of other people and communities unprotected. In addition to people with lived experience of mental health issues this includes a lack of protection for:
- Lesbian, gay and bisexual people
- Trans and gender diverse people
- Women
- Intersex people
- People with a positive HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status, and
- People with disabilities.
The Victorian Government may be addressing this. A new Engage Victoria process has been established. This process invites you to fill out a survey or make your own personal submission on possible new laws. They have provided a consultation paper for us to respond to in our survey or submission.
The proposed laws seek to include all the groups above, except those with a positive HIV/AIDS or Hepatitis C status. They proposed to include people with a disability, which will include people with distress or mental health issues. This is because ‘mental illness’ is considered a disability under Victorian law.
However, maybe you didn’t think that mental distress or mental health issues was a disability? Earlier this year VMIAC, myself and other mental health, human rights and LGBTIQ+ advocates wrote to the Victorian Government asking them to make mental health a separate protected group (we also supported the inclusion of all the groups mentioned here in the new laws and made other recommendations).
The reason for this is that people with mental distress or mental health issues may not see themselves as having a disability. That means they may not see themselves as having protection from vilification. We believe having the characteristic of mental health status stated clearly in legislation will help people understand their rights and that they are protected under the law.
One of the reasons that so much mental health stigma continues is because it is currently lawful. If we elevate ‘mental health’ or ‘mental distress’ as a separate group (called a ‘protected attribute’), we can better address mental health stigma. Some words hurt and we should be protected against them.
If you have time, you may consider filling out the survey or making a submission.
Watch Simon’s video below to find out more about the topic.
To find out more about the Engage process and make a submission, follow this link.