A community leader says a social media campaign, #BendigoTogether, launched last week will support Bendigo's Karen community after a series of COVID-19 related attacks.
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Bendigo Community Health Service community guide Nido works to educate Karen community members about life in Bendigo.
Nido said numerous Karen community members have reported being taunted and abused in recent weeks.
"The Karen people are becoming fearful and threatened," Nido said.
About 20 people have already voiced concerns that their appearance and culture is being blamed for the spread of COVID-19 in Victoria, Nido said.
Victoria Police, in conjunction with BCHS and Believe in Bendigo, created an awareness video to encourage the Karen community to report these incidents to police.
When living in Burma, Nido said citizens didn't have the right to report incidents to authorities.
"The involvement of Victoria Police has helped the community understand they have the right to report things done to them," Nido said.
"My work is to educate and explain to the Karen people it is safe to report any incident that happens to the police."
Bendigo Police Inspector Shane Brundell said such incidents may constitute prejudice motivated crime.
"Victoria Police takes all incidents of racism, discrimination or vilification based on religion, culture or ethnicity seriously," he said.
"If anyone is a victim of crime involving racism, discrimination or vilification, we encourage you to report this to your local police."
Nido said the Karen community loves living in Bendigo and it is a minority of people who exhibit antisocial behaviour.
"It is a few uneducated people acting this way towards the Karen people," he said.
"We believe this negative behaviour has to be stopped.
"The campaign is very, very important and necessary, to make the Karen people feel safe."
Believe in Bendigo spokesperson Margot Spalding is urging the community to step up again, as it did during the protests surrounding the approval of the Bendigo Islamic Community Centre in 2015.
"Over the next weeks and months, we will be running a very public campaign to show the Karen community and every culture in Bendigo that they are welcome," Mrs Spalding said.
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