Beyond Borders: A Dialogue About LGBTIQA+ Human Rights Around the Globe

Sav Tanhchareun and Professor Paula Gerber participated in a prescient discussion on the challenges facing the LGBTIQA+ global community and the ramifications for LGBTIQA+ people in Australia.

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law hosted a successful seminar featuring Sav Tanhchareun, Equality Australia’s International Advisor, in conversation with Professor Paula Gerber of the Monash University Faculty of Law. During the event, Sav and Paula analyzed the global picture of rights protection for LGBTQIA+ people worldwide and the impact on LGBTQIA+ communities in Australia.

Sav Tanhchareun and Paula Gerber seated in conversation on stage

This was an in-person-only event held on Wednesday, 2 April 2025, from 5.30 to 7.30pm at the Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000.  It was fantastic to bring together so many LGBTQIA+ academics, legal practitioners and students for a dialogue about LGBTQIA+ human rights around the globe.

Sav Tanhchareun and Paula Gerber seated in conversation on stage from another angle

A special thank you goes out to Sav Tanhchareun and our esteemed colleague, Professor Paula Gerber, for leading such an important and conversation.

If you’re interested in further exploring the rights of trans and gender-diverse individuals, be sure to join us for the Annual Castan Centre for Human Rights Law Conference on Friday, 25 July 2025.

Professor Melissa Castan, Sav Tanhchareun and Professor Paula Gerber

Speaker

Sav Tanhchareun, International Advisor, Equality Australia
Sav Tanhchareun is the International Advisor at Equality Australia. Sav has a background as a human rights advocate and aid worker. He has worked as a gender, disability and human rights expert for the United Nations World Food Programme, numerous Australian aid agencies, the Victorian government and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Sav holds a Master of Gender and Social Policy from the Australian National University and a Bachelor of Development Studies from UNSW.

Commentator

Professor Paula Gerber, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash Law
Paula Gerber combines a sharp legal intellect with passionate advocacy, to fight for the dismantling of discriminatory systems around the globe. She is a law professor at Monash University, and an internationally renowned expert on human rights law and LGBTIQA+ people. Paula has written and edited numerous books, journal articles and book chapters on human rights issues, including most recently the 3-volume collection Worldwide Perspectives on Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals (2021) and the 2-volume collection Critical Perspectives on Human Rights Law in Australia (2021) (with Melissa Castan). She is also regularly featured in the Australian media, including on ABC Radio and TV and in The Conversation. In her spare time, Paula is the Chair of Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that advocates for better protection of the rights of LGBTIQA+ people in the Asia Pacific. From developing www.antigaylaws.org (basically the Google Maps of global LGBTQ+ legal landscapes) to leading Kaleidoscope Human Rights Foundation, Paula is on a global mission to overturn archaic laws and create pathways for equality and dignity for LGBTIQA+ people in every part of the world.