Intersectional Discrimination in Australia: An Empirical Critique of the Legal Framework

28 Pages Posted: 7 Oct 2020

See all articles by Alysia Blackham

Alysia Blackham

Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne; University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Jeromey Temple

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: August 19, 2020

Abstract

Australian equality law is still largely dependent on individual enforcement to achieve systemic change. The degree to which discrimination law acknowledges and accommodates intersectional discrimination is a question of growing pertinence. This article bridges theoretical scholarship on intersectionality and empirical statistical evidence of how people experience discrimination in Australia, drawing on data from the 2014 General Social Survey, to critically evaluate the extent to which Australian discrimination law is able to accommodate intersectional experiences of discrimination. We argue that there is a fundamental disconnect between the legal framework, which focuses on separate and distinct ‘grounds’ of discrimination, and how people actually experience discrimination in practice, which is multiple and overlapping. This article offers concrete suggestions for how the legal framework and data collection could be improved to better integrate intersectionality in Australian discrimination law.

Suggested Citation

Blackham, Alysia and Temple, Jeromey, Intersectional Discrimination in Australia: An Empirical Critique of the Legal Framework (August 19, 2020). University of New South Wales Law Journal, Vol. 43, No. 3, 2020, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3676959

Alysia Blackham (Contact Author)

Melbourne Law School, the University of Melbourne ( email )

University Square
185 Pelham Street, Carlton
Victoria, Victoria 3010
Australia

HOME PAGE: http://https://www.findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/display/person97769

University of California, Berkeley - Berkeley Center on Comparative Equality & Anti-Discrimination Law

Boalt Hall
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200
United States

Jeromey Temple

affiliation not provided to SSRN

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