WA Attorney-General Dr Tony Buti says the Government will review anti-vilification laws as more queerphobic flyers target LGBTQIA+ community members in Perth.
Content warning: this article discusses harassment, doxing, offensive statements, and homophobia.
The state’s Attorney-General, Tony Buti, told The Sunday Times that he was “appalled” by their content, saying the Government would introduce new Equal Opportunity legislation soon.
First reported by OUTinPerth, the flyers have been circulating for over a year. They contain false and defamatory claims about individuals within the community, with photographs from social media.
The flyers were placed in letterboxes and distributed around Victoria Park, West Perth, Highgate and Maylands, calling people paedophiles.
One flyer claimed an individual pictured poisoned people, including children, whom they had met on dating apps.
“(The person) surfs Perth gay apps looking for drug users to poison them with a chemical the LGBTI group calls ‘perfume,’” the flyer said.
With another flyer alleging the person was trafficked to Perth by a Taiwanese crime syndicate.
“(They’re) called Daddy D… because of his large genitalia,” the flyer reads. “Say no to human trafficking.”
The flyer investigation comes amid broader concern about anti-LGBTIQA+ activity in Perth, following recent reports of anti-trans stickers appearing in Subiaco and surrounding areas.
WA Police investigate after months of targeting and doxing
One victim told OUTinPerth they initially reported the flyers to police earlier this year, but officers advised them there was little they could do.
After months of continued targeting and doxing, the police progressed the matter further.
Community groups and advocates have described the flyer campaign as deeply disturbing, with Vic Park Pride urging anyone who receives the material to report it to police.
LGBTIQA+ rights group Just.Equal has described the campaign as a hate crime, calling for improved police training, specialist liaison officers and better recording of hate-motivated offences.
Dr Buti told The Sunday Times that this is “a matter for WA Police to investigate the facts of each matter.”
“Various Criminal Code offences could apply, including distributing intimate images.”
“The Government is considering the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission of WA and the Disability Royal Commission to expand the scope of existing anti-vilification provisions.
“The Government will also soon be introducing new Equal Opportunity legislation, which will improve civil protections relating to vilification and harassment.”
A WA Police spokesperson confirmed that charges had yet to be laid.
“We acknowledge and appreciate community support in providing information relating to criminal offences as this is an essential element of our ability to identify and disrupt criminal activity,” the spokesperson said.
What some may have initially considered a prank has now become very dangerous.
Individuals have been targeted, named and pictured with alleged information that could make them a continued target in public settings.
Images: OutinPerth‘There is just this brashness around hate at the moment’
Chief executive of Rainbow Futures WA, Misty Farquhar, said the flyers were a form of hate speech as they target people “on the basis of their sexuality”.
“They are targeting LGBTIQA+ community members and potentially outing them to their local communities in deceitful ways,” they told The Sunday Times.
“A lot of (the flyers) are accusing people of being criminals in sexual ways . . . accusing them of being paedophiles or being other kinds of sexual predators when they are based on nothing.”
“We only have anti-vilification laws on the basis of race, but no other kind of identity. If somebody was putting the flyers out on the basis of a person’s race, then they could be convicted, but they can’t in this way.
“Increasingly, we’re seeing people in WA are feeling more and more unsafe, not just in the LGBTIQA+ community but (also) … people at the intersections of queerness and First Nations communities.
“There is just this brashness around hate at the moment, and it makes us really scared.
“We know that the government has been promising to update the Equal Opportunity Act for a long time, and recently, they did a consultation around expanding hate crime laws here, which would be amazing.
“I would now very strongly encourage the government to move forward with that … because we have a hate crimes unit, but they can’t make convictions because there is no law that supports hate speech against our communities.”
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