Hate speech law changes and petition

The government is changing the Human Rights Act 1993 to ban hate speech targeted at religious groups but not the queer community, women and disabled people.

An Action Station petition calling for inclusion of the queer community, women and disabled people under hate speech law changes has been launched.

DPA are flabbergasted by the announcement that the Human Rights Act will only be amended to protect religious groups from hatred-inciting speech.

A discussion document last year proposed other groups also be protected, yet this announcement excludes banning hate speech and incitement of violence against the queer community, women and disabled people.

DPA strongly believes:
- that the language in the incitement provisions of the Human Rights Act should be changed to incorporate all protected groups, and;
- that the grounds in the Human Rights Act should be added to to clarify that trans, gender diverse and intersex people are protected from discrimination.

We also think that in order to avoid the need for repeated changes to the law whenever a new protected ground of discrimination is added to the Human Rights Act, the law should be written in such a way that any new grounds can automatically be covered by incitement of hatred and discrimination.