Building Respect: Whittlesea's Anti-Racism Strategy

Unfortunately, discrimination on the basis of race, religion, culture or ethnicity is a common occurrence for many members of our community.

Recent research we conducted in partnership with Melbourne University and VicHealth found:

• 97 per cent of those surveyed from the Victorian Aboriginal community had experienced racism in the previous 12 months and over 70 per cent had experienced 8 or more racist incidents
• Nearly two-thirds of those we surveyed from our Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities (CALD) had experienced racism in the previous 12 months, with 40 per cent experiencing 6 or more incidents
• The majority of Victorians (95 per cent) believe its important that people from different racial or ethnic backgrounds are treated fairly
• 84 per cent of people surveyed across the City of Whittlesea agreed that something should be done to reduce discrimination experienced by people from racial or ethnic minority groups in Australia.

In response to this, we have developed a strategy that will guide us in:

• raising awareness and understanding
• creating places free from racism
• building a workplace environment that is fair, welcoming and inclusive and free from racism