A Year of Hate

The report details a surge in targeted harassment and protests against all-ages drag events, such as Drag Queen Story Hours (DQSH), in Australia. It identifies a coalition of actors including neo-Nazis, COVID-19 conspiracy theorists, fringe politicians, and certain Christian groups who employ tactics like review-bombing, bomb threats, and the disruption of local council meetings. The document argues that this movement is heavily influenced by the importation of transphobic rhetoric and 'groomer' narratives from the United States and United Kingdom. While the mobilisers remain a fringe element of society, the report highlights a 'chilling effect' where venues and councils cancel events due to security concerns and threats of violence.

• Anti-drag mobilisation in Australia is driven by a coalition of diverse actors, including conspiracy theorists, far-right extremists, fringe media, and Christian groups, which allows extremists to reach audiences beyond their usual circles.
• The movement in Australia is heavily dependent on the importation of narratives, slurs, and imagery from the United States and United Kingdom, rather than being locally generated.
• Communities that formed around COVID-19 anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown sentiments are pivoting toward anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-drag narratives to maintain their relevance and audience engagement.
• Anti-drag activists employ a range of tactics to disrupt events, including physical protests, bomb threats, doxxing of staff, and 'review-bombing' of institutional social media pages.
• The primary narratives used to target drag performers include accusations of paedophilia and 'grooming', claims of ideological indoctrination, and the use of religious language to describe performers as 'Satanic' or 'demonic'.
• The mobilisation has created a 'chilling effect' where local councils and venues cancel events not because of legislative bans, but due to security risks and the threat of violence from fringe groups.

APA

Thomas, E. (2024). A Year of Hate. Institute for Strategic Dialogue. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Year-of-Hate_Anti-Drag-Mobilisation-Australia.pdf

Chicago

Thomas, Elise. A Year of Hate. Institute for Strategic Dialogue, 2024. https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Year-of-Hate_Anti-Drag-Mobilisation-Australia.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Thomas |first1=Elise |title=A Year of Hate |publisher=Institute for Strategic Dialogue |date=2024 |url=https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Year-of-Hate_Anti-Drag-Mobilisation-Australia.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{thomas2024year, author = {Thomas, Elise}, title = {{A Year of Hate}}, institution = {Institute for Strategic Dialogue}, year = {2024}, url = {https://www.isdglobal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/A-Year-of-Hate_Anti-Drag-Mobilisation-Australia.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }