Racial profiling dangerous: Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission

24/10/2007

The Victorian Equal Opportunity & Human Rights Commission today expressed concern about incidences of racial profiling in media reporting of gang violence in Melbourne.

Responding to a number of recent media reports about gang violence that specifically identified African people, Commission Acting Chief Executive Slavka Scott said she was alarmed by the use of racial identifiers in the reports.

“In one example, a newspaper reported on fight involving a gang of 150 youths and mentioned that the gang ‘included a number of African youths’ but did not mention any other ethnicities,” she said.

“More alarmingly, a number of commercial television news reports incorrectly identified the perpetrators of a violent attack on a bottle-shop owner in Noble Park as Sudanese, when in reality the group responsible was made up of various ethnicities,” said Ms Scott.

“This kind of reporting is unacceptable because it labels whole groups of people as being predisposed to violence,” she said.

“Violence is not something that is inherent to any particular culture, nor is it something that is ‘imported’ to Australia from other countries.”

“African Australians have embraced Australia as their new home and bring much to Victoria’s diverse multicultural community. As Australians, they have the right to a fair go,” said Ms Scott.

African Think Tank Chairperson Dr. Berhan Ahmed said the negative portrayal of Africans in the media was hurting the community.

“School kids and taxi drivers have reported racial abuse and threats of physical assault. African youths working in city restaurants in the evening are experiencing difficulties catching public transport at night, due to fear of racist attacks,” he said.

Ms Scott reminded people of the Australian Press Council’s guidelines on the reporting of race.

The Council's principles state: "Publications should not place gratuitous emphasis on the race, religion, nationality, colour, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness, or age of an individual or group. Nevertheless, where it is relevant and in the public interest, publications may report or express opinions in these areas".

Ms Scott stressed that the incidences of racial profiling were isolated and commended the media outlets that had provided balanced coverage of the issue.

“It is important that the actions of a few do not undermine the achievements of others in reporting this complex issue”, she said.

Media contact: Alex Manning, 9281 7144