A memorial for transgender woman Marjorie Harwood outside Hobart’s Risdon Prison has been defaced with a Nazi symbol.
Members of Equality Tasmania gathered this week to clean and restore the memorial after discovering the vandalism.
Advocate Martine Delaney said the incident has been reported to both the Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner and Tasmania Police.
“As well as desecrating the memory of Marjorie and effectively attacking all trans folk, the use of illegal Nazi symbols should be of concern to all Tasmanians who want to live in an inclusive and hate-free society,” Delaney said.
“We will not rest until this memorial is safe from hate, which is the reason we have reported this … and why we are looking at further security measures. We will never be the quiet and passive victims haters want us to be.”
The memorial was created in 2021 by Delaney and Marjorie’s mother after Marjorie passed away in 2018, having refused treatment for a kidney condition due to the possibility of being reincarcerated in a men’s prison.
The memorial has been targeted before, including in May 2023, when it was defaced with an anti-trans slogan.
Equality Tasmania President Ash Russell said the latest incident highlights the importance of proposed hate-crime legislation.
“The proposed law will send the message that hate has no place in Tasmanian society, including hate against LGBTIQA+ people,” Russell said.
Police believe the incident occurred overnight on Monday and are appealing for information.
