In Australia, gendered hate speech against women is so pervasive
and insidious that it is a normalised feature of everyday public
discourse. It is often aimed at silencing women, and hindering their
ability to participate effectively in civil society. As governmental
bodies have recognised, sexist and misogynist language perpetuates
gender-based violence by contributing to strict gender norms and
constructing women as legitimate objects of hostility. Thus,
gendered hate speech, like other forms of hate speech, produces a
range of harms which ripple out beyond the targeted individual. The
harmful nature of vilification is recognised by the various
Australian laws which prohibit or address other forms of hate
speech. But as we map out in this article, gendered hate speech is
glaringly absent from most of this legislation. We argue that by
failing to address gendered hate speech, Australian law permits the
marginalisation of women and girls, and actively exacerbates their
vulnerability to exclusion and gender-based harm.