At Damien Greer Lawyers, we’re incredibly happy to announce that we’ve become a corporate sponsor for Pride in Law for 2019/20. As part of this, we’re very excited to see and support the continued work this group is doing in providing visible legal education, professional networking and advocacy in the law.

Who are Pride in Law?

Pride in Law is a non-political group that aims to link the LGBTIQ+ legal community and their allies. They formed as an association in 2017, aiming to bring together the LGBTIQ+ legal profession across multiple disciplines.

The creation of Pride in Law was a historic moment because it was the first time in Australian history that an independent legal association was formed for LGBTIQ+ legal professionals. Included in the association are those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, pansexual, queer or intersex – as well as their allies.

An ally is typically a non-queer person who supports and advocates for the queer community. Alternatively, an ally is an individual within the LGBTIQ+ community that is an ally for another member that identifies differently than them.

What are the aims of Pride in Law?

Pride in Law have a number of aims that will all help LGBTIQ+ professionals in the legal sector. Overall, the association seeks to erase homophobia, gender inequality and other affronts to individuals, families and communities by educating the legal community about LGBTIQ+ issues.

They also help members directly and indirectly as they:

  • Provide visible legal education by organising scholarly forums and visible events.
  • Organise monthly lawyer-to-lawyer networking meetings, monthly socials and quarterly networking events.
  • Collaborate with a wide range of lawyers across multiple disciplines to confront pressing issues involving the LGBTIQ+ community and their allies.

Why have we become allies of Pride in Law?

11 in 100 Australians are of diverse sexual orientation, sex or gender identity. Even though the reported number of same sex couples tripled between 1996 and 2011, and even though marriage equality finally came into effect in December 2017, those in the LGBTIQ+ community are 3 times more likely to experience depression.

In addition, 6 in 10 experience verbal homophobic abuse and 2 in 10 experience physical homophobic abuse. On top of this, 42% still hide their sexuality or gender identity at social and community events, 34% hide their sexuality or gender identity when accessing social services and 39% hide their sexuality or gender identity in the workplace.

We, their allies at Damien Greer Lawyers, want to change that – not only in the legal profession, but in the wider community. This is why we have decided to partner with Pride in Law. In becoming a corporate sponsor for the organisation, we want to advocate for the rights of LGBTIQ+ professionals and promote the acceptance of the LGBTIQ+ community.

We are very excited to see and support the continued work this group is doing for LGBTIQ+ professionals and we’re looking forward to helping them build the community up and tear stereotypes down.

Damien Greer

Learn more about Pride in Law

Since their inception in 2017, Pride in Law have built a proud legacy and they continue to make great strides. They are not exclusive to any single area of legal discipline so, whether you’re a corporate lawyer from a top tier firm, a criminal solicitor, government legal officer, family practitioner, child protection lawyer, barrister, judicial officer, or personal injuries legal practitioner, all allies are welcome.

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