Summary

Our researchers were asked to take part in a project analysing how hate speech laws have influenced public discourse in Australia. Our research explored whether participants had experienced or observed hate speech and racial vilification targeting their communities in public discourse. It also scrutinised perceptions of how participants’ communities have been represented across different types of media.

Our methodology

We undertook 55 in-depth and paired in-depth interviews with a total of 101 participants from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and communities with cultural, linguistic and religious diversity. Our interviewees were community leaders, which enabled us to highlight the perspectives of those most engaged with public discourse.

We collected the data in 10 urban, regional and remote locations across Australia.