Balancing the Act: ADCQ newsletter - issue 28 (Winter 2010)

Focus on the Somali community

Members of the Somali Community in Brisbane attended an information session on discrimination and harassment held by the Commission in February. This information session was called to address the issue of intensified vilification and discrimination towards local Somali Australians.

’The Commission is particularly concerned about the high level of vilification experienced by Somali and other recently arrived migrants. We wanted the community to know that there is somewhere they can go for help when this occurs.’ said Acting Commissioner Neroli Holmes.

Community members who had experienced discrimination or vilification were invited to talk about their personal experiences. Conciliators from the Commission and legal advisors from the Legal Aid Office were on hand to provide information on how to go about making a complaint to the Commission with Legal Aid assistance. Interpreters were also available to support the community.

Our thanks go to the leaders of the Somali community who assisted in promoting the session to their community members, to the Ethnic Communities Council who helped organise the event and to the Multicultural Development Association for allowing us to use their community hall.

The Commission has also been working closely with ACCES Services Inc and the Multicultural Development Association to deliver regular information sessions on discrimination and harassment to migrant and refugee participants of their Get Set for Work and traineeship programs.

Back to table of contents for issue 28.