Monash University condemns the abhorrent Islamophobic and anti-Palestinian vandalism in the Monash University Religious Centre on the Clayton campus on 7 March.
As soon as the University became aware, we reported the matter to Victoria Police and continue to offer our support to the ongoing police investigation.
In addition to any criminal charges, if any member of the Monash community is found to be responsible, they will also face the full consequences of the University's misconduct procedures.
Our commitment to our community
We take all incidents of this nature extremely seriously and have zero tolerance for any form of racism.
Since the reprehensible incident occurred, the University has received feedback about its communication with the wider community and how they became aware of the incident which, in addition to the vandalism, has caused distress.
We are listening and taking this feedback on-board.
We understand that to start the process of healing, we need to more rapidly communicate with student groups and communities about serious incidents that may impact them, where this is appropriate; and does not impact ongoing police investigations.
We acknowledge the ongoing advocacy of, and will work with, the University's Muslim Chaplain, the Monash Student Association, the Monash University Islamic Society, the Monash Arab Society to ensure a coordinated approach, with the necessary supports available. We also acknowledge Dr Susan Carland for her ongoing advocacy on behalf of the Muslim community.
Strengthening safety and security
We have upgraded security in the Religious Centre including additional CCTV and access control in prayer spaces, and increased security around the Religious Centre and other places of worship on campus. While it is regrettable that such measures are necessary in places of worship, any further actions will be developed sensitively and in close consultation with the University community.
We must always work together to ensure all in our community feel safe, respected and welcome.
We are here to support you
We continue to outreach to those members of our community directly impacted and offer support through a range of services:
- Instances of concerning, threatening and inappropriate behaviour can be reported to the University's Safer Community Unit
