A ground-breaking legal service for the LGBTQIA+ community has been launched in the South East.
Justice Q was created by South-East Monash Legal Service (SMLS) to provide “safe, inclusive and affirming” legal help that is free and confidential.
A team of LGBTQIA+ lawyers, social workers and community development professionals are delivering the wraparound service.
It aims to clear legal hurdles faced by LGBTQIA+ clients, in areas such as discrimination, harassment, family violence, gender affirmation and family law.
Searing stories were told of the barriers at the Justice Q launch on 2 October.
Often people feel marginalised in a system “tailored to those with more privilege”, guest speaker and transgender-rights activist Sasja Sÿdek said.
Sÿdek, a transgender woman of colour, sought legal help for a workplace discrimination case.
It was hard to find respectful lawyers. She felt misgendered, overlooked and even questioned about her sexuality – which was irrelevant to her case.
Her lawyer – an older, straight, white man – invited her for a drink. Others seemed more focused on the money and didn’t fight hard enough for Sÿdek.
The newly-installed Victorian Commissioner for LGBTQIA+ Communities, Joe Ball, shared a powerful example of how laws impact lives.
A proud transgender man, Ball told of the difficulties of changing his assigned gender on his birth certificate in Queensland – up until a law reform that came into effect this year.
“The only way I could have changed my gender, without that legislative change, was if I’d have a sterilisation surgery… a forced hysterectomy.
“That would have been a completely unnecessary surgery for me, just so that I could have the right gender that I live my life in on my birth certificate.
“Importantly it means when my first child is born I can be a father on the birth certificate. And that means the world to me.
“Imagine if you had to put something that was not yourself on the birth certificate or you couldn’t be on the birth certificate.”
That reform was won after many years of advocacy from community legal services and LGBTQIA+ groups, Ball said.
Ball noted the importance of new services outside of “established” LGBTQIA+ community centres such as Brunswick and Prahran.
“I’m always moved to this day when I see people setting up services that are outside of the city centre. Because the message that sends is we are everywhere.
“To expect people to travel at some of the hardest times of their life – to travel up to an hour and a half to get that legal support is so prohibitive.”
Founding lawyer Kavitaha Sivasamy said there was a need to help clients “feel seen, hear and valued in the legal system”.
“As a proud transgender woman of colour, I feel so passionate about Justice Q because I have felt incredibly safe, understood and empowered when being helped by people who share my lived experience.”
Community education and engagement is another focus for Justice Q.
“We’re not just providing legal advice,” Justice Q community development worker Fiona Vuong said.
“We’re creating a supportive community where our clients can feel truly understood and supported.”
Such is Justice Q’s importance, SMLS is largely self-funding the program in its initial stages.
“Launching this program is one of the proudest moments in my career,” SMLS chief executive Kristen Wallwork told the event.
“We are responding to the people around us and providing a service for our whole community.
‘The right legal help can have a hugely positive impact on people’s lives.
“Legal problems are incredibly stressful, and we need responses that are safe, affirming and above all kind.”
Justice Q in-person and telephone appointments are available at Springvale and Narre Warren. A free interpreter service is available.
Contact: 9545 7400 or JusticeQProgram@smls.com.au
