In Victoria Thorne Harbour Health is encouraging LGBTIQA+ community members who have experienced harassment, intimidation or violence to come forward and confidentially share their experiences as part of the upcoming Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into hate crimes.
The organisation will support people who wish to contribute to the inquiry and is collecting voluntary accounts from community members to be included in submissions to Parliament.
“These are not isolated incidents. For nearly two years we have been aware of attacks where online targeting escalates into real-world violence, affecting our communities’ sense of safety in everyday life,” said Thorne Harbour Health CEO Chad Hughes.
The call follows recent reporting of assaults involving gay and bisexual teenagers in Sydney and similar incidents affecting communities across Australia over the past 18 months.
While a recent report from the ABC’s 7:30 exposed that some gay bashings in Sydney were linked to radicalised Muslim teenagers who sported symbols related to terrorism organisation ISIS, previous attacks in Melbourne have attributed largely to robbery motivations. Similar attacks by teenagers in Perth were described as being trying to emulate online videos of hunting potential pedophiles.
Since 2024, Thorne Harbour Health has provided safety guidance and supported community members after incidents in which offenders used dating apps and social media to arrange meetings that resulted in assault, intimidation and robbery.
The organisation said the inquiry provides an important opportunity for victim-survivors and community members to be heard and to improve responses to both historical and contemporary forms of anti-LGBTIQA+ violence.
“We know this violence is underreported. Many people are unable to come forward due to fear of being outed, or because offenders are using recorded footage to threaten or blackmail them.
An inquiry gives government the opportunity to uncover the scale of these attacks and identify practical steps to prevent harm and support those affected,” Hughes said.
Thorne Harbour Health has updated its safety and reporting guidance and is encouraging anyone
affected to seek support.
“These incidents — motivated by a broad range of radical ideologies — can have significant mental health impacts. We can support people to access counselling, peer support and, if they choose, assistance to report safely,” Hughes said.
Community members can express interest in confidentially sharing their experiences by contacting reporting@thorneharbour.org
Do you need some support?
If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, support and counselling are available from:
QLife: 1800 184 527 / qlife.org.au
QLife are a counselling and referral service for LGBTQIA+ people.
DISCHARGED: info@discharged.asn.au / discharged.asn.au
Discharged is a trans-led support service with peer support groups for trans and gender diverse folks.
Lifeline: 13 11 14 / lifeline.org.au
Beyondblue: 1300 22 4636 / www.beyondblue.org.au
