Edition 135 • December 2017 No Images? Click here MARRIAGE EQUALITY / It finally happened! It was a historic day for the LGBTI community. A day where we saw equality, fairness and love win. A day when LGBTI couples in Australia were finally treated with the same dignity and respect when it comes to who they love. We look forward to seeing more LGBTI couples all over Australia saying ‘I do’. TRANS RIGHTS / Historic win for young transgender people In a landmark decision, the Family Court ruled that young people who experience gender dysphoria and wish to undergo hormone treatment can now do so without the approval of the Family Court — relieving them of the burden of a costly and unnecessary court process. OPINION / The dignity of people behind bars should never be negotiableThis month marks two years since the UN adopted the Nelson Mandela Rules, the minimum standards for how we should treat people behind bars. If our ideal for Australia is a country that cares for the inherent worth of all people, then we should take Mandela's rules and his measure of a nation seriously, writes Ruth Barson. WOMEN'S PRISONS / Victorian Government told to stop routinely strip searching womenThis month, we launched a report calling on the Victorian Government to do away with the archaic and ineffective practice of routine strip searches in women's prisons. Routinely and regularly strip searching women causes needless suffering. No woman should be stripped of her dignity, there are far more effective ways of checking for contraband. OPINION / Why Aboriginal Australians are still having their wages 'stolen'When people talk about stolen wages — the slavery-like system that saw Aboriginal people denied any or equal pay for hard work over decades — they typically speak of the past. But the pervasive and poisonous tentacles of systemic racism in Australia are very much of the present, writes Adrianne Walters. WOMEN'S PRISON / 'Humiliating, degrading and undignified'The HRLC welcomes a report by the Victorian Ombudsman, which shows the importance of independent inspection and monitoring of places of detention. The report shows Victoria is subjecting women to routine strip searches, extended solitary confinement and excessive use of restraints. PETITION / Hands off our charities Philanthropy, whether from Australia or overseas, has long provided crucial resources to Australian charities who have made our community better and fairer. HRLC has joined a coalition of Australia’s best known charities to urge people to call on the Government to drop its attempt to silence charities through a ban on international donations. Please sign and share the petition. DEMOCRACY / Government attempts to silence charitiesThe government’s proposed funding ban could have alarming consequences for not-for-profits, such as silencing health charities from speaking out on vaccination or preventing green groups from defending the environment. CIVIL VOICES / Australian charities forced on ‘insidious’ path of silenceA major report reveals that a string of government policies and practices has created a culture in which charities in Australia are "self-silencing" for fear of risking their financial security or attracting political retribution. LOOKING BACK ON 2017 / HRLC Annual Report Take a look back on the hard won gains we've had a role in securing this year. From the triumph of marriage equality, to highlighting the ongoing cruelty of Australia’s refugee policies. From stopping harm to children in prison, to defending protest rights and taking action to tackle the over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples — 2017 has been a big year. UN / Australia urged to evacuate "desperate and dangerous" detention campsA UN committee of independent human rights experts has told Australia to end the indefinite limbo of the 2000 men, women and children being warehoused on Manus Island and Nauru by evacuating them to safety in Australia. UN / Another mark against Australia’s nameThe tide of condemnation against Australia’s human rights record is rising, with the United Nations expert panel on racial discrimination, criticising Australia’s failure to combat racism in a report released this month. OPCAT / Australia ratifies torture prevention treaty, but must accept scrutiny of Manus and NauruThis month, the Australian Government ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture. This is an important step in the right direction, but it's disappointing that the facilities on Manus and Nauru will remain shielded from scrutiny. AUSTRALIAN CASE SUMMARIESHigh Court of Australia strikes down Tasmania's anti-protest lawsBrown v Tasmania [2017] HCA 43 High Court of Australia finds marriage law postal survey is lawfully fundedWilkie & Ors v The Commonwealth & Ors; Australian Marriage Equality Ltd & Anor v Minister for Finance & Anor [2017] HCA 40 (M105/M106 of 2017) Family Court of Australia clears the way for young trans people to access hormone treatment without court authorisationRe Kelvin [2017] FamCA 78 INTERNATIONAL CASE SUMMARIESEuropean Court of Human Rights rules Russia’s ‘gay propaganda laws’ are discriminatory and breach free speechBayev and Others v. Russia (application nos. 67667/09, 44092/12 and 56717/12) [2017] ECHR NOTICE BOARDSAVE THE DATE / Annual Human Rights DinnersThe Annual Human Rights Dinners bring together friends, colleagues and supporters from across the human rights, justice and philanthropic sectors to celebrate human rights progress. JOB / Victorian Aboriginal Legal ServiceThe Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service are looking for a Director of Legal and Client Services in Melbourne. Applications close 23 December. JOB / The Justice InitiativeBased in London or New York, the Litigation Director will provide leadership and vision for the Justice Initiative’s strategic litigation. Applications close 8 January. JOB / GetUpGetUp are looking for a part-time Legal Advisor to advise GetUp’s campaigners, executive team and board on legal considerations and risks related to proposed campaign and corporate activities. Applications close 18 January. HRLC IN THE MEDIA UN body backs Indigenous calls for voice to ParliamentLawyer, Alina Leikin, speaks with the ABC about the need for Australia to engage properly with the UN, now that we have a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. Routine prison strip searches "excessive, ineffective": reportDirector of Legal Advocacy, Ruth Barson, speaks with the ABC about the need to end the archaic and harmful practice of routine strip searches in Victoria's women's prisons. Raising the ageWhen primary school-aged kids get in trouble, they should be supported to get back on track, not thrown in prison cells. Ruth Barson speaks with ABC News about raising the age of criminal responsibility. How Bob Brown challenged Tasmania's anti-protest lawsBob Brown and Jessica Hoyt made history when they won a High Court challenge to Tasmania's anti-protest laws. It was a clear articulation of how protest is protected by the Constitution, writes Hannah Ryan and Emily Howie. |