antiviolence.info

Sentencing laws addressing hate and prejudice motivation start today

// December 2nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Media discussion, Within Australia

The Anti Violence Project today celebrated commencement of the Sentencing Amendment Act 2009 which received Royal Assent yesterday and came into effect today.

“This new Act of Parliament amends the Sentencing Act 1991 to require that a court must have regard to a motivation of hatred or prejudice against a group of people in sentencing an offender”, said AVP head Greg Adkins.

“On behalf of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community we congratulate Attorney General Rob Hulls on his continued support and advocacy with these latest legal reforms.

“The new Sentencing Amendment Act 2009 draws a line in the sand in our Victorian community to say that crime based on race, religion, gender or orientation won’t be tolerated and ensures that judges take into account during sentencing whether hatred or prejudice motivated the crime.

“This provides greater protection to all of us, gay or straight, those of us who enjoy ethnically and faith diverse lives, supporting our right to live and enjoy a diverse community where we can openly celebrate our sexual orientation, gender, culture, heritage or religion, knowing that under law any attack motivated by hatred or prejudice against these attributes deserves punishment for the hate or prejudice motivation alone.

“There are two steps that now must be taken – firstly the LGBT community must continue to respond to the AVP’s “Call-to-Action” on the reporting of hate and prejudice motivated violence and report each and every incident directly to police or through supportive processes like the AVP’s on-line reporting service at https://antiviolence.info .

“Every time LGBT individuals witness violence, whether its directed towards us or towards people of different races or faiths in the broader community, we have a responsibility to get on the phone and call the police”, Adkins said.

“The second step is that cultural change, underway within Victoria Police, which is working to eliminate a long history of indifference towards hate and bias motivated crime against gays and lesbians, has to continue with support of all levels of Victoria Police and must succeed”.

AVP joins GLLO police on “The Conch” JOY 94.9

// November 12th, 2009 // No Comments » // Media discussion

Live-on-air, the AVP joins Victoria Police gay and lesbian liaison officers and host Paul Anthony on “The Conch” – listen live here or if you are in Melbourne tune into JOY 94.9

Missing student located

// November 11th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Incidents, Media discussion

Missing student Timothy Wing Keung has been located in Sydney and is returning to Melbourne today. Police investigating his disappearance have spoken personally to him and he is safe and well. The Anti Violence Project thanks the GLBT and extended community for actively networking to ensure this man’s whereabouts became known and safety was ensured. The AVP particularly acknowledged the work of Knox Police CIU, Crime Stoppers and the Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers.

Community Safety Month podcasts

// November 9th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Media discussion, Within Victoria

Community Safety Month podcasts are coming on-line. First up is the launch from the Victoria Police Media Centre on 1st October 2009, plus other podcasts from the Police Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officers segment of “The Conch”.

Check through the list of podcasts here!

Community Safety Month activities in the GLBT community were presented by the Anti-Violence Project of Victoria, JOY 94.9 and the Victoria Police.

Sexual Assault discussion on JOY 94.9 for Community Safety Month

// October 19th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Media discussion

Tonight on “Hide and Seek” on JOY 94.9 is the latest installment of the JOY 94.9, Victoria Police and Anti Violence Project’s Community Safety Month partnership – a wide ranging discussion about Sexual Assault.

Tune-in to JOY 94.9 if you are in Melbourne, or listen on-line via JOY 94.9’s web streaming – click here!

This program will be podcast – stay tuned for details.

Gay overseas student still missing in Melbourne

// October 16th, 2009 // 3 Comments » // Incidents, Media discussion, Within Victoria

Update: 11 November 2009 – Missing student Timothy Wing Keung has been located in Sydney and is returning to Melbourne today. Police investigating his disappearance have spoken personally to him and he is safe and well. The Anti Violence Project thanks the GLBT and extended community for actively networking to ensure this man’s whereabouts became known and safety was ensured.

Update: 22 October 2009 – The location of missing student Timothy Wing Keung remains unknown. Gay and Lesbian Liaison Officer Acting Sergeant Gabby Tyacke and AVP head Greg Adkins joined JOY 94.9 “Conch” host today to request anyone within the GLBT community with information about Tim’s whereabouts to come forward and assist in locating his whereabouts.

Please contact Knox Police on 09 9881 7000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or www.crimestoppers.com.au

Previously:
Distraught parents of missing student plea for help
Courtesy of The Age (Andra Jackson), October 14, 2009

Missing student Timothy Wing Keung.

The distraught mother of a Hong Kong student missing in Melbourne has begged him to get in touch.

Timothy Wing Keung, 29, was last seen at his Ferntree Gully home about 6.30am last Monday.

Mr Keung, who is studying IT security at Deakin University’s Burwood campus, left behind a number of personal items he usually carried with him.

Police are concerned for Mr Keung’s wellbeing.

His mother Sau Ying Ng said she spoke to her son regularly over the internet but when she last rang him about noon on the day he disappeared, he did not want to talk.

‘‘Tim sounded really tired. He didn’t want to talk. He just hung up the phone,’’ she said speaking in Melbourne through an interpreter and family friend Koonju Wang.

Two days later, his family in Hong Kong was contacted by police and told their son was missing.

‘‘He just walked out and didn’t bring anything with him. He didn’t bring a jacket or money. I am really worried,’’ Mrs Ng said.

She has visited the house where Mr Keung lives with two other students but found nothing amiss.

Mrs Ng appealed to her son to make contact saying, ‘‘Mum just wants to know that you are safe and well.’’

She asked her son to leave a message on the internet to reassure his family that he is safe.

Mrs Ng was accompanied to Australia by one of her two daughters Lai Wah, 26, who described her missing brother as ‘‘really helpful’’. When family friends sent their son or daughter to Australia to study, Mr Keung would look after them.

They affectionately called him ‘‘Uncle Tim’’.

Mr Keung, 29, had been in Australia a year and loved his new home.

‘‘He was really confident and studied hard,’’ his sister said.

Mr Keung is described as Asian, 176 centimetres, 60 kilograms, with straight black collar-length hair, dark-coloured eyes and of thin build.

He speaks Cantonese and reasonable English and was believed to be wearing tracksuit pants and runners.

Anyone with information has been asked to contact Knox police on 9881 7000 or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000 or go to www.crimestoppers.com.au

Click here to link to associated article from The Age & view a picture of Timothy Keung.

Click here to reach related article from The Herald Sun.

Meeting at Malvern supporting anti-violence measures

// October 14th, 2009 // No Comments » // Media discussion

AVP head Greg Adkins tonight addressed the Malvern ALP on the issues violence poses for the GLBT community, the current Stonnington violence and reporting pilot project and the need for greater community partnerships to address individual responsibility and longer-term cultural change in the Victorian community to address current trends in public violence.

“Congratulations to the Malvern branch of the ALP in seeking to develop greater partnerships between the broad community and the individuals in the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities, to address violence in all its forms”, Adkins said.

“Their pro-active leadership in the Stonnington community is a huge step-forward to breaking down barriers that prevent reporting of violence by victims, and flag that the Stonnington community is ready for the local council to become more involved in addressing outcomes of negative public behaviour in the local “entertainment precinct”.

“The Anti Violence Project applauds the Malvern ALP establishing a community discussion on homophobic and alcohol-fueled violence and its impacts and we were delighted to accept their kind invitation to speak.”

(more details to follow)

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.