MONDAY 13 MAY 2013

De Minimis
Official Newspaper of the Students of Melbourne Law School, Established 1948, Revived 2012 Volume 3, Issue 10

www.mudeminimis.com

And Gender Identity, Queering the Law and Other Topics At This Tuesdays Sex Talk: Bodies, Identity and the Law
Dean R. P. Edwards
Students will have a chance to uncover the laws attitudes and recent developments with respect to sexuality, gender identity and more at this weeks top billing, Sex Talk: Bodies, Identity and the Law. The four-hour symposium tomorrow, Tuesday, 14 May 2013, has been arranged by members of the JD law subject, Current Issues in Gender, Sexuality and the Law, as part of their class assessment. Students will present their findings on a diverse range of subjects in panel discussions and poster and oral presentations. The event kicks off at 1 pm in Room 920, with an introduction and brief comments from Master of Ceremonies Dean Edwards, who is also co-panelling a discussion on GLBTI rights with fellow student (and former LSS Queer co-rep) Oliver Cox and chair Professor Ian

Lets Talk About Sex

Malkin. The introduction is followed by a onehour sushi lunch and the first round of poster presentations, giving attendees the opportunity to mingle with poster presenters and inquire about their research. Individual oral presentations and the first student panel, Feminist critiques of the criminal law, chaired by Professor Lisa Sarmas, will follow lunch and the first round of posters, concluding around 2.40 pm for afternoon tea. Part two of the symposium resumes at 2.55 pm, with more oral presentations, a panel on recent gay/queer legal developments and a conversation on moving beyond the gender binary. The full program for the Sex Talk symposium is available online at <http://bit.ly/18CqFag>, and the events Facebook event can be found at <http://on.fb.me/10AD73X>.

IMAGE FROM HISTORYS (ALLEGEDLY) VERY FIRST SEX TALK. (PHOTO: WIKIMEDIA)

Read more about Sex Talk Inside This Issue.

Speaking Up on Animal Rights: 2013 Voiceless Lecture

Reegan Grayson-Morison
Animal rights lawyers Antoine Goetschel and Anastasia Smietanka spoke on their vision of road map for animals in the law at animal rights advocacy group Voiceless annual address, held at Melbourne Law School on 1 May 2013. The lecture was part of a series hosted by Voiceless, an animal protection institute that boasts the Hon. Michael Kirby as one of their patrons. In their respective addresses, Goetschel and Smietanka advocated the right to dignity for all creatures and the creation of a separate legal category for animals in lieu of viewing them as mere property. Goetschel, a Swiss lawyer based in Zurich, is a specialist in animal law and worked as an animal welfare lawyer before becoming a partner at Krepper Knecht Partner. Goetschel chose this field of law to benefit the future generations and said he strongly believes in the power that one person can have to change laws based on ethical issues. Smietanka is the National Co-ordinator of the Barristers Animal Welfare Panel and works as a lawyer at Landers Continued Page 3

2 FEATURES
Sex Talk: Bodies, Identity and the Law

De Minimis mudeminimis.com Volume 3, Issue 10

Tuesdays Symposium Program

1 pm: Brief introduction, outline of symposium structure and explanation of poster presentations. MC: Dean Edwards 1 2 pm: Lunch Sushi (provided while poster presentations take place) 1 2 pm: Poster presentations Group A (presenters available for conversation 1:05 1:30 pm) Poster 1: Lucrezia Carnovale, Victorian law and consent in rape: Evaluating the laws focus on the complainant Poster 2: Kaitlin Hanrahan, The issue of consent in rape and Victorian law reform Poster 3: Tessa Hilt, Legal narratives on gender and homicide after the abolition of the defence of provocation Poster 4: Rachel Schechter, Prostitution and the Canadian Constitution: Contemporary challenges to the criminalization of sex work Group B (presenters available for conversation 1:30 1:55 pm) Poster 5: Tai Sayarath, Women beyond gender?: Feminism and international refugee law in the age of gender mainstreaming Poster 6: Thea Gibson, Intersex: Disrupting the binary system of gender embedded in Australian law Poster 7: Victoria Byrne, Company paid maternity leave: Working with feminism or against it? Poster 8: Amanda De Guzman, A human rights analysis of the current practice of performing corrective surgeries on intersex children 2 2:20 pm: Individual presenters MC: Dean Edwards (5-6 minutes presentation and 4-5 minutes questions each presentation) Presentation 1: Anna Nodrum, Marriage Equality in Australia Presentation 2: Sam Lovick, When Pete is Cheryl: the limits of the law in dealing with the workplace challenges faced by transsexuals 2:20 2:40 pm: Panel: Feminist critiques of the criminal law, chaired by Prof. Lisa Sarmas (panelists present 5 minutes each, then 10 minutes for questions) Panelist 1: Amy Frew, Getting back together with feminism Panelist 2: Joel Cooke, The construction and gendering of the ideal rape victim in Australian legal discourse 2:40 2:55 pm: tea break Refreshments provided 2:55 3:15 pm: Individual screened at the first official event of Melbourne Law Schools new student group, the Public Interest Law Network (PILN). Taylor herself came along to the event, introducing the film briefly before having to drive directly to Sale on a Tuesday night, in preparation for a court appearance in the town the following morning: illustrating the hectic life of a Junior Counsel in Victoria. Adopting the tag line The film Julia and Tony dont want you to see, the documentary illustrates the circumstances of UN High Commission for Refugees processing facilities in Indonesia and Malaysia, which lead some to the decision to undertake the alternative route and become the so-called boat people, bound for Australia. In terms of production, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is an amateur film shaky camera work and poor lighting make this obvious almost immediately. Yet the film succeeds in

presenters. MC: Dean Edwards (5-6 minutes presentation and 4-5 minutes questions (total 10 minutes each presentation)) Presentation 1: Leah Wickman, Sex sells: Human trafficking laws, prostitution and controlling women in the United States Presentation 2: Chris Ambas, Is discrimination coherent? A sceptical solution to a sceptical paradox 3:15 3:35 pm: Panel Recent gay/queer legal developments, chaired by Prof. Ian Malkin (panelists present 5 minutes each, then 10 minutes for questions) Panelist 1: Dean R.P. Edwards, Section 377A: the political economy of regulating (homo)sexual rights in Singapore Panelist 2: Oliver Cox, Yogyakarta Principles 8 years on A critical analysis 3:35 3:55 pm: Conversation Beyond the gender binary, chaired by Prof. Ian Malkin (conversational style presentation 10 minutes, then 10 minutes questions) Presenter 1: Alex Turnbull, A manifesto for gender revolution: social progression within legal frameworks Presenter 2: Elise Cafarella, We still need to talk about Kevin: examining the rigid rules of gender recognition in Australian law 3:55 4 pm: Closing by MC its mission of illustrating why the horrific circumstances of UN processing may make the deep blue sea appear to be the better, or only, option for many refugees. Although the film is likely to leave you sad and angry, as many in the room felt following the PILN event, this is no reason to avoid the film. The film documents the often overlooked shortfalls of refugee status determination under the UN process, and for this, Taylor should be congratulated. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea can be purchased as a digital copy film on a pay as you feel basis online at <http://deepblueseafilm.com/about/>.

Film Review

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea

Jessica Williams
The film Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea is young Victorian barrister Jessie Taylors second foray into filmmaking. She produced her first film, We Will Be Remembered For This, another look into Australias detention centre policy, when she was still a law student at Monash University. Taylors new film was recently

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De Minimis mudeminimis.com Volume 3, Issue 10

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through the cold, lonely night (Admin, definitely Admin). 8. Kick yourself for that split second decision to not take the stairs, because youre a lazy sod and books are heavy. 9. Take the opportunity to study, because since when do we ever stop? In any case, you cant leave the room to get distracted. 10. Be patientsaid no one ever to somebody stuck in a lift. 11. Live-tweet the experience. 12. Consider calling for a pizza. Wonder if their Delivery in 30 minutes or your pizza free! policy applies if they physically cant hand the pizza to you. 13. Bunker down and have a quick snooze. Get to know the security guy through the jammed door. 14. Contemplate eerie notes you could leave for other students on the walls of the lift, should things go pear-shaped. 15. Become attached to your new home. Consider ways to spruce up the place. 16. Having resigned yourself to becoming a full-time tenant of Lift 1, Level 3, have the doors suddenly creak open to a relieved security guy. 17. Take the stairs to the ground floor.

What to Do in The Event You Are Trapped in a MLS Lift

Christine Todd
1. Press all of the buttons. 2. Utter a few crude profanities. 3. Press the same buttons again, but better. 4. Panic. 5. Press the emergency button and speak to a frustratingly calm operator while you freak the hell out. 6. Respond to questions, including Are you claustrophobic? (Well, I am now), and What is your mobile number? (No, I do not come here often). 7. Contemplate which of your textbooks youll burn first to keep warm

Voiceless Lecture
Continued from Page 1 & Rogers in Melbourne. In this role, she liaises with government bodies such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on policy and regulatory aspects of animal law. Smietanka is also a MLS alumna and former President of the University of Melbourne Animal Protection Society. Goetschel noted the blind ignorance of animal cruelty in our society, stressing that consumers must stop saying yes to the product and no to the production. At one point in his address, he quoted German philosopher Immanuel Kant, who said that a person cannot misuse others by reducing them to a specific function, and argued that this ideal should extend to animals as well, in the abolition of factory farming. If the majority of people in our society took this stand, Goetschel said, ethics could become a source for a legal framework, which would in turn influence the direction of our future. On the issue of the enforcement of these ideals, Goetschel and Smietanka De Minimis Staff
Editor Dean R. P. Edwards Online Manager Mika Tsoi Layout Editor Mika Tsoi Staff Nicholas Baum, Peter Botros, Reegan Grayson-Morison, Emma Henderson, Thomas Ho, Haram Kwon, Andrew Michaelson, Anna Nodrum, Melissa Peach, Doug Porteous, Raoul Renard, Tessa Sidnam, Jess Sykes, Christine Todd, Jessica Williams, Annie Zheng

ANTOINE GOETSCHEL, VOICELESS 2013 ANNUAL LECTURE KEYNOTE SPEAKER, PICTURED ABOVE WITH ADMIRERS.

noted that the lack of political will and conflicts of interests on the part of those enforcing the current Codes of Practice, in which producer interests prevail over those of the creatures. If an objective voice for animals were created with a sound, enforceable legal framework both speakers said that they believed a better society would be

achievable, and that law could be the driving force for change. This would share Mahatma Gandhis vision of the world: The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the ways its animals are treated. More information about Voiceless is available at <www.voiceless.org.au/>.

MJILs 2013 Talk Addresses Dispossessed

Dean R. P. Edwards
A packed Room G08 last Tuesday heard Dr Stewart Motha give a thought-provoking talk on The Nomos of the Sea and People in Small Boats. The talk was hosted by the Melbourne Journal of International Law (MJIL) and by the Institute of International Law and the Humanities, and was chaired by Prof. Sundhya Pahuja. Motha described the plight of the Chagos islanders, who were expelled from their homes on Diego Garcia in the 1960s. Though British subjects, they were relocated to nearby Mauritius, to make way for a strategic US air base on their former home in the Indian Ocean. Motha drew comparisons from literature and philosophy, arguing that the Chagossians, like other boat people, have suffered at the hands of modern states concerns over sovereignty.

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Agony Aunt

De Minimis mudeminimis.com Volume 3, Issue 10

Note to Self: Watch The Graduate Again

Dear Agony Aunt, I want to hook up with one of my lecturers. Theyre young, cute and seem receptive to the idea. Should I put something on the anonymous feedback forms and wait until marks come out to make a move? Waiting for a Sign Dear Waiting for a Sign, If Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas have taught us anything, its that attraction has no bounds. And that Michael Douglas almost certainly saved the world from destruction in a past life. I am curious as to how your lecturer has seemed receptive, though. If you think theyre keen because theyve stayed back to answer your questions, or given particularly kind feedback on an essay then it might be time to stop procrastinating with dreamy crushes. Except for Ryan Gosling, obviously, that makes time for itself. If theyve shown genuine interest, you dont want to remind your lecturer of your age gap in your approach. Putting something in the feedback forms would ram your young years down their throat til it bounces back up with a bile-ridden no. Much better, if you are going to make a move, to do it upfront, honestly, and definitely after marks come out. Something simple like a coffee, so you can see if youre even interested in a social context before you risk having your heart trampled. Which Im sure wont happen. Well, it might. But, hell, if Richard Gere can have a flirtation with a gerbil, than youve got a shot. Sincerely, Aunt Myrtle

QUIZ
1. What are the jersey colours for the new Greater Western Sydney AFL team? 2. The New Shekel is the currency of which country? 3. In rhyming slang, if someone is going to have a bo-peep, what will they be doing? 4. What are the primary colours of light? 5. What is the highest grossing Australian movie ever? 6. Which is the most northerly European capital? 7. In Einsteins theory, E = MC2, what does the C stand for? 8. What Australian movie includes the line, Tell him hes dreaming? 9. Name the cocktail from its ingredients: vodka, gin, tequila and rum, triple sec and cola. 10. Which five countries are bigger (landwise) than Australia? Answers below. This weeks quiz compiled by Anna Nodrum.

Upcoming Events
Tuesday, 14 May Sex Talk: Identity, Bodies and the Law, symposium. 1 4 pm. Room 920. Refreshments served. Wednesday, 15 May Regulating Morality: Law, Pornography and Indonesias Islamic Defenders Front, lecture by Helen Pausacker. 1 pm. Room 223. Thursday, 16 May Judicial Loyalties: Assessing the Politicization of the Venezuelan Legal System, lecture by Associate Prof. Raul Sanchez Urribarri. Held by the Asian Law Centre and the Centre for Comparative Constitutional Studies. 1 pm. Room 920. Friday, 17 May The Humanitarian Impact of the Arms Trade Treaty, lecture by Leonard Blazeby, International Committee of the Red Cross. Hosted by the Asia Pacific Centre for Military Law. 1 pm. Room 223.

FORMER GUATEMALAN DICTATOR EFRAIN RIOS MONTT AT HIS RECENT TRIAL. (PHOTO: THE GUARDIAN)

Legal Milestone: Former Dictator Convicted

Dean R. P. Edwards
Despite setbacks and government interventions during the trial, newswires confirmed late last week that the 86-year-old former Guatemalan dictator Efrain Rios Montt had been convicted of genocide and crimes against humanity and sentenced to 80 years in prison. His conviction marks the first time ever in modern history that a national leader has been convicted of human rights abuses in a domestic court. (Historical examples include British King Charles Is and French King Louis XVIs conviction and beheading for human rights abuses.) The charges laid against the former head of state, who came to power in 1982 in a US-backed coup, focused on the organised campaign launched against the indigenous Ixil people, who the Guatemalan government believed had been supporting a leftist rebellion. Montt, who former US President Ronald Reagan said was a man of great personal integrity, faced accusations that under his leadership the Guatemalan forces killed at least 1,771 Mayan Ixils. Montts defence attorneys have reportedly stated that they would appeal the conviction. (Source: Reuters)

QUIZ ANSWERS. 1. Grey and orange 2. Israel 3. Having a sleep. 4. Red, green and blue 5. Crocodile Dundee 6. Reykjavik 7. Speed of light 8. The Castle 9. Long Island Iced Tea 10. Russia, Canada, United States and Brazil