The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law

The Castan Centre for Human Rights Law hosted a thought‑provoking public seminar, The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law, on 12 March 2026 at Monash University Law Chambers, Melbourne.

Event Details

Date: Thursday 12 March 2026
Time: 5.30pm - 6.45pm (registration from 5pm)
Campus: Monash University Law Chambers, 555 Lonsdale Street, Melbourne

Led by Associate Professor Senthorun (Sen) Raj in conversation with Professor Paula Gerber, the event unpacked the emotional dimensions of legal reform affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer communities. The discussion formed part of the Castan Centre’s broader mission to advance human rights through rigorous scholarship, public engagement and advocacy.

Read more

The Emotions of LGBT Rights and Reforms: Repairing Law is available to download for free from Edinburgh University Press.

Speaker

Associate Professor Senthorun Raj

Associate Professor Senthorun Raj, Manchester Law School and Manchester Metropolitan University
Dr Senthorun Raj (he/him) is an Australian Tamil critical legal scholar who works in the intersections of emotion, culture, race, gender, sexuality, law, and justice. Dr Senthorun (Sen) is a Reader (Associate Professor) in Human Rights Law at Manchester Law School and Doctoral College Deputy Faculty Head in Business and Law at Manchester Metropolitan University. He is the editorial lead of the “Queer Law” book sub-series with Palgrave and a Creative Content Editor of Feminist Legal Studies. He is the former chair of Amnesty International UK and a connoisseur of glitter.

Commentator


Professor Paula Gerber, Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash Law
Professor 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, Sex, Gender and Identity: Trans Rights in Australia (2025), 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.