The institution will have a particularly focus on the prevention of emotional abuse and physical abuse resulting from online racial discrimination and online hate, with a particular emphasis on online antisemitism. It may also focus on other forms of online hate that are emotionally abusive or may lead to physical abuse to human beings, including hate directed against other ethnic, cultural, national and religious minority groups, people with disabilities, the LGBT community, the indigenous communities and other groups which Commonwealth or State laws consider it unlawful to discriminate against. The Institute’s work may also extend to promoting the prevention and control of online hate that results in emotional and physical abuse directed against individuals, such as cyber bullying.
The Institute also will seek to educate and stimulate debate on issues relating to online hate as a means of promoting the prevention of emotional and physical abuse that results from online hate. It will conduct research into online behaviour that is harmful or abusive to human beings, in particular, research into those forms of online discrimination and hate it seeks to prevent. This research will be made publically available through online report and articles, publication in scholarly journals, and media articles and shared at conferences. The institute will have a particular focus on empirical reporting approaches for online hate, law reform to tackle online hate, schemes for controlling online hate, and schemes for building social rejection of hate within online society.
The institute will engage in the development, maintenance, and operation of software tools that support and enable new types of research into online hate. This research will promote the prevention of emotional and physical abuse by raising both awareness of the problem and introducing new ideas for control and prevention.
The institute may develop programs to assist, educate and develop young people so they can become leaders in the online world and play an informed role in the promotion of online multiculturalism and equal opportunity as a means of preventing the emotional and physical abuse that can result from online hate. The institute may develop programs to assist, educate and develop young people’s ability to recognise and effectively respond to cyberbullying both as victims and as effective third parties who observe cyberbullying. This helps prevent and control emotional and potential follow up physical abuse.