Anna Brown (lawyer)

Anna Shelley Brown OAM (born 1979) is a lawyer and activist.[1] Until December 2018, she was Director of Legal Advocacy at the Human Rights Law Centre. In that month, she became the incoming chief executive of new LGBTI advocacy organisation Equality Australia.[2][3]

Early life

Brown grew up in suburban Melbourne before studying politics and law at Monash University. She became president of the Law Students' Society,[4] and played in the Victorian Women’s Football League.[5]

Career

After a time working in corporate law with Allens Arthur Robertson, she worked for the Federal Court as a Judge’s Associate to Justice Steven Rares.[4] She has also been an adviser to former Victorian Attorney-General and Deputy Premier, Rob Hulls.[6]

She joined the Human Rights Law Centre in 2011, and has led much of its work on LGBTI rights, marriage equality, gender recognition, and equality law reform, including the case of Norrie May Welby in the High Court.[6][7][8][9][10]

Brown was co-chair of the Equality Campaign during the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey,[11] and she is also co-chair of the Justice Working Group of the Victorian Government LGBTI Taskforce.[12] Brown ran a constitutional challenge in the High Court on the marriage plebiscite, on behalf of Australian Marriage Equality.[13] She has previously held the position of Co-Convener of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby.[13] Brown has spoken of a need for a national Bill of Rights or Human Rights Act.[14]

Recognition

Brown was named Victorian GLBTI person of the year in November 2014, in the first GLOBE community awards.[15] She was also a finalist for the Tony Fitzgerald Community Award in the 2014 Australian Human Rights Awards, a finalist in Victorian Australian of the Year in 2015 and winner of the Tim McCoy Award in 2015.[13]

In the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours Brown was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for "service to human rights, and to the LGBTIQ community".[16] In October 2019 she was named winner of the Social Enterprise and Not-for-profit category in The Australian Financial Review's 100 Women of Influence awards.[17]

References
  1. "Anna Brown interviewed by Shirleene Robinson in the Marriage equality oral history project". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 14 January 2019.
  2. Scott Morrison faces fresh fight on LGBTI discrimination from new campaign machine The Age, 8 December 2018
  3. New Australian LGBT group launches to fight for equality Pink News, 8 December 2018
  4. Anna Brown, Director for Advocacy and Strategic Litigation, Human Rights Law Centre Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission, 10 February 2016
  5. Closet Case: Anna Brown Star Observer, October 19, 2015
  6. Anna Brown Australian Women's Archives Project, 18 August 2016
  7. The HRLC’s Anna Brown recognised for LGBTI rights work Human Rights Law Centre, October 19, 2014
  8. Landmark study reveals extent of gay conversion therapy in Australia, calls for sweeping reform Sydney Morning Herald, 15 October 2018
  9. Gay refugees in fear of attacks on Nauru SBS News, 4 March 2016
  10. Huge Win For Transgender People Facing "Cruel" Choice Ten Daily 14 June 2018
  11. Marriage equality's next fight: is freedom to discriminate a right worth protecting? The Guardian, 14 November 2017
  12. It’s time to remove outdated discrimination against LGBT kids Human Rights Law Centre, October 12, 2018
  13. Anna Brown The Wheeler Centre
  14. Religious freedom review should not wind back the clock on equality for LGBTI Australians Human Rights Law Centre, February 14, 2018
  15. Melbourne lawyer Anna Brown wins award for GLBTI rights work The Age, 18 October 2014
  16. "Anna Shelley Brown". honours.pmc.gov.au. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  17. "AFR's 11 most influential women revealed". Australian Financial Review. 2019-10-22. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
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