Truth-telling must underpin Victoria’s landmark anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes inquiry

Truth-telling must underpin Victoria’s landmark anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes inquiry

Victoria has established a landmark parliamentary inquiry into anti-LGBTIQA+ hate crimes, extremist recruitment and online harms. An RMIT expert says the inquiry presents a rare opportunity not only to respond to rising hate, but to confront the institutional histories that shape it.

Dr Jeremie Bracka, RMIT University School of Law

"This is a significant and welcome development. The inquiry signals that anti-LGBTIQA+ hate is not episodic or fringe, but a systemic issue requiring coordinated legal, social and institutional responses.

"Our recent community roundtable at RMIT revealed strong support for a formal truth-telling process. Participants consistently emphasised that contemporary hate cannot be understood in isolation from Victoria’s history of criminalisation, police harassment and state-sanctioned stigma.

"Events such as the Black Rock arrests and the Tasty nightclub raid were not aberrations. They were harms enabled by law and public authority. Their legacy continues to shape trust in institutions today.

"While apologies have been issued, apology alone does not exhaust accountability. This inquiry provides an opportunity to examine how past legal frameworks, policing practices and public rhetoric created conditions that normalised discrimination.

"We are witnessing a concerning rise in transphobic, homophobic and far-right mobilisation, particularly in online spaces where misogyny, racism and anti-LGBTIQA+ narratives intersect and amplify one another.

"Prevention must be forward-looking, but it must also be historically informed. Comparative international research demonstrates that jurisdictions that confront historical injustice through structured truth-telling processes strengthen institutional trust and democratic resilience.

"If this inquiry connects contemporary hate crimes to their deeper structural and historical drivers, it has the potential to move beyond reaction and toward genuine prevention."

Dr Jeremie M. Bracka is a human rights lawyer and academic based at RMIT University’s School of Law. His research lies at the intersection of transitional justice, constitutional law, and international human rights.  Jeremie led a roundtable with LGBTIQA+ experts into truth telling.

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General media enquiries: RMIT External Affairs and Media, 0439 704 077 or news@rmit.edu.au

19 February 2026

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