Glossary

We define key terms below and acknowledge that people have different definitions.

Language has changed and continues to evolve.

Discrimination

The unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, sex, or disability.

Discriminatory workplace harm

This umbrella term covers any way a person experiences discrimination, harm or violence based on protected characteristics within the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act.

Ethnicity

Is a term used to describe a social group that shares common and distinctive culture, religion, or language, rather than describing physical characteristics.

Gender Equality and Inclusion Outcomes Committee

The Gender Equality and Inclusion Outcomes Committee is the current authorising and governing committee that sits over gender equality in Victoria Police.

The committee is being expanded to include diversity and inclusion.

Intersectionality

This is an approach to understanding how social meanings related to the way we categorise and identify can overlap and interconnect.

This creates different layers of discrimination or disadvantage for either an individual or group.

Prejudice

Is a preconceived opinion that is not based on fact, reason or actual experience.

Program logic

A program logic model is a schematic representation that describes how a program is intended to work by linking activities with outputs, intermediate outcomes and longer-term outcomes.

Race

Is the social categorisation of people based on a combination of various physical characteristics including skin colour.

Race also represents historical and ancestral affiliation, or a shared culture. It can be a person’s self-identification with one or more social groups.

Racism

Is the belief that people can be categorised by a stereotypical understanding of their ethnicity or race.

This understanding leads to the belief that one race is superior to others.

This causes prejudice, discrimination and hatred to be directed towards someone based on their colour, ethnicity or national origin.

Stereotype

A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Workplace harm

Workplace harm is the detrimental effects of being targeted by all forms of inappropriate behaviour from work colleagues including sex discrimination, gender-based bullying, sexual harassment and assault, predatory behaviour, victimisation, workplace conflict and bullying.

Updated