The Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ Hate Crimes is well underway and is an essential effort by the State of New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to understand a critically important aspect of hate violence and in particular policing and murders.
has called for communities to unite for harsher sentencing, the prioritisation of the LGBTQIA+ hate crimes, and for stricter legislations to protect the community, particularly in townships and rural areas.
Similarly in 2018, a first-of-its-kind inquiry in Australia was made to investigate both the scale of hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community and inadequate police responses.
Lessons learnt from a 2018 NSW parliamentary inquiry into hate crimes against Australia’s LGBTQ+ community could change the way police and communities respond to complaints, and acknowledge the continued impact of past injustices.
The inquiry was the first of its kind in Australia to investigate both the scale of hate crimes against the LGBTQ+ community and inadequate police responses. It was held because a growing body of research and community-driven activism pointed out the toll violence had taken, and continues to take, on LGBTQ Australians.