Health and legal advocates are once again calling on community members to participate in the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into gay and transgender hate crimes 1970 – 2010, which has been re-opened.

ACON, NSW’s leading organisation specialising in community health, inclusion and HIV responses, and leading LGBTI law firm, Dowson Turco Lawyers, are encouraging people from sexuality and gender diverse communities impacted by historic prejudice-related violence to share their experiences and views by lodging a submission.

The NSW Legislative Council’s Standing Committee on Social Issues launched an inquiry in September last year into institutional responses to hate crimes carried out against members of the LGBTIQ community in NSW between 1970 and 2010. The first round of submissions were collected between September and October 2018 and three hearings were held in November.

The ongoing inquiry will look further into the criminal justice system and whether there were any impediments that impacted the protection of LGBTIQ people in NSW, and the delivery of justice to victims and survivors of hate crimes as well as their families and loved ones. It will also examine how past impediments have been addressed by current policies and practices, and also what role the ‘gay panic defence’ played in the culture of violence and harassment, and the judicial system.

ACON CEO Nicolas Parkhill welcomed the reopening of the inquiry in providing an opportunity for community members who may have missed the first round of submissions to share their own experiences and have their voices heard.

“We commend the NSW Parliament for their commitment to shedding further light on the issue of historic hate crimes, and how judicial and justice agencies responded to these incidents,” Mr Parkhill said.
“With a range of community partners, we have been working hard to address the grief and trauma these tragic events have caused, which continues to impact on our community’s health and wellbeing today. Questions remain and we are encouraged that by reopening the submission process, we can take further steps towards healing and justice.”

In 2020, the Legislative Council’s committee will be travelling to the Far North Coast, the Central West, Wollongong, the South Coast and Sydney, to ensure that as many community members in NSW have their chance to be heard. Anyone from outside these areas is still encouraged to make a submission.

“ACON is encouraging members of our communities, especially those from rural and regional NSW, who didn’t have the chance to lodge a submission to the inquiry last year, to be part of the process. Your input is vital to improving our understanding of these events, and in the development of responses to ensure they do not occur again,” Mr Parkhill added.

The inquiry was first announced in the wake of the report In Search of Truth and Justice: Documenting Gay and Transgender Prejudice Killings in NSW in the late 20th Century, released in May 2018. The report was produced by ACON in partnership with a range of community organisations.