Professor Paula Gerber is a recognised academic at Monash University Law School and Deputy Director of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law. She is a leading expert on protecting and promoting the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) persons.
Her academic work in this field has included conference papers (see, for example, Professor Gerber’s 2013 Castan Centre Annual Conference Speech); scholarly articles and book chapters;[1] submissions UN bodies and parliamentary inquiries; teaching the masters subject Protecting the Rights of Minorities, Marginalised and Vulnerable People; and media opinion pieces, including:
- ‘Is the criminalisation of homosexuality in the Commonwealth a relic of the British Empire?’ The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Blog, 20 November 2013.
- ‘Decriminalising homosexuality worldwide: should Australia get involved?’ The Conversation, 24 September 2013.
- ‘Wiping the slate clean: historic convictions for gay sex must be expunged’ The Conversation, 26 September 2012.
- ‘Should the west be held accountable for gay persecution?’ The Conversation, 8 April 2014.
In addition to her academic career, Paula is also the inaugural President and founding director of the Kaleidoscope Australia Human Rights Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation committed to achieving equality and dignity for LGBTI persons in the Asia-Pacific region, including the decriminalisation of homosexuality.
Paula decided to create this webpage to make it easier for people to not only identify which countries still criminalise homosexuality, but to see the exact text of the criminal laws. In addition, this website provides information about which countries have ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and its Optional Protocol, which allows the UN to monitor and assess whether a government is complying with international human rights laws, including the obligation not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Contact Professor Gerber
You can contact Paula on +61 3 9905 5085 or at paula.gerber@monash.edu.
You can also follow Paula Gerber on twitter at @DrPaulaGerber.
[1] See, for example, Gerber Paula ‘Living a life of crime: The ongoing criminalisation of Homosexuality within the Commonwealth’ (2014) Alternative Law Journal [under review]; Gerber, Paula & Gory, Joel ‘The UN Human Rights Committee and LGBT Rights: What is it doing? What could it be doing?’ (2014) Human Rights Law Review, [Forthcoming]; and Gerber, Paula & O’Byrne, Katie ‘Should gay men still be labeled criminals?’ (2013) 38(2) Alternative Law Journal 82-86.
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