Archive for September, 2009

Local push for gays to report violence underway

// September 30th, 2009 // No Comments » // AVP news

Stonnington Leader journalist Kate Bruce-Rosser reports on the AVP campaign to encourage reporting of violence in a localised pilot involving gay venues in South Yarra/Prahran (Market Hotel’s John Wain and AVP head Greg Adkins pictured).

Check out her article here.

Law changes target hate motivated crime – follow-up now needed

// September 24th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // AVP news, Media discussion, Within Victoria

The GLBT community and state government have joined forces support Sentencing Act changes aimed to tackle crimes motivated by hatred or prejudice. Now the discussion commences about long-term follow-up action and funding for the Anti Violence Project.

Attorney General Rob Hulls views this as “where the motivation for a crime was hatred or prejudice, or victims are targeted by offenders because of the offender’s prejudice, or their conduct indicated that prejudice was the motivation, the courts will specifically take that into account when sentencing.”

Follow this discussion currently running in the two GLBT weekly print publications:-
Victoria Targets Gay Hate Crimes, reported by Rachel Cook in the MCV.

GLBT community has also questioned how effective the measure will be without it being underpinned by increased levels of reporting of violence, and government committment to follow-up action. Read Andie Noonan’s article Hate Crime Laws May Not Work in Southern Star.

Numerous reports and research papers have backed up calls over recent years for the AVP to be funded to provide long-term and generational change through an expansion in their currently volunteer-driven work addressing violence within and against Victoria’s GLBT community.

Stonnington Council and GLBT community renew their relationship addressing violence

// September 15th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // AVP news, Incidents, Within Victoria

AVP head Greg Adkins and Stonnington Council staff today met to renew the relationship between Stonnington and the GLBT community. Manager of the Police Gay & Lesbian Liaison Unit, Scott Davis, was also in attendance.

The AVP had requested this meeting following documentation of violence against the GLBT community in the Chapel Street precinct of the South Yarra/Prahran area. Initial GLBT community concerns stemmed from a delay in information of the Stonnington Assaults making its way through Council processes. Council staff then initiated today’s meeting. The AVP will now present at the local Liquor Accord agenda meeting in October with a view to them meeting with the full Accord committee a week later.

AVP head Greg Adkins said that he looked forward to introducing the Accord to a trial project commencing later this week in partnership with local gay venues. “Heaven’s Door” owner Brian Frewin and the “Market” manager John Wain are part of a trial which will look at providing training for security staff to encourage and support patrons to report violence to police and then, when safe, to the Anti Violence Project via their online violence reporting process.

“The AVP is trialling signage for the venues supporting the reporting of violence and identifying the GLBT training that staff have undertaken. We hope to extend this into the current Brunswick hot-spot also as part of the trial,

“We will then encourage local government to come on board to take the initiative further to its next stage.”

GLBT community urged to report violence; Stonnington Council told to clean up their act

// September 10th, 2009 // No Comments » // Incidents, Within Victoria

In his article “Speak out against violence”, Andrew Shaw (MCV, Thursday, 10 September 2009) writes that violence against our community should be reported to the authorities.

The City of Stonnington incorporates a large slice of Melbourne’s gay community south of the river, including Prahran and South Yarra, and it’s also an area prone to violence against gays.

Victoria’s Anti Violence Project (AVP) has found recent bias and hate-crime against the GLBT community parallels public experiences of alcohol-fuelled street violence and bashings around Melbourne, recently publicised in the mainstream media. With one significant difference: gay men and lesbians continue to not report violence to police. They’ve urged the GLBT community to become active in reporting violence and sent a clear message to Stonnington Council to clean up their act.

Read Andrew’s article in full here.