Muslim women 'made more vulnerable to violence by anti-terrorism laws'
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Version 0 of 1. The introduction of anti-terrorism laws in Australia has made Muslim victims of family violence afraid to contact authorities for protection, an advocacy group says. Victoria’s Royal Commission into Family Violence was due to hear from the Australian Muslim Women’s Centre for Human Rights on Tuesday. The organisation said in its submission Muslim women were “invisible” in the debate over family violence. This was compounded by Muslims being made to feel their community was being targeted or treated unfairly by authorities under anti-terrorism laws. “This has developed into apprehensiveness about the Australian legal system and a mistrust of both government and the legal system,” the submission said. Muslim women who had experienced racial violence in public, such as being insulted or having their religious garments forcibly removed, were even less likely to ask for help if they were being abused at home, the centre said. Domestic violence against Muslim women happened in a context of daily discrimination and racial and religious violence, according to the centre’s submission. |