Gillian Triggs, former president of the Human Rights Commission, has always been an advocate for the disempowered, the disenfranchised and the marginalised. She survived a bombardment of media scrutiny and relentless political pressure for five long years between 2012 and 2017.
Her new book Speaking Up shares with readers the values that have guided Gillian’s convictions, and the causes she has championed. In the push for equality, she dares women to be a little more vulgar, and men to move beyond their comfort zone. Her memoir, written for those who yearn for a fairer world, tells the tale of her life; in politics and government, in civil rights and citizenship, and most importantly, in human rights. Before her service as president of the humanitarian organisation, she was seeking justice in the law profession. From 2007 to 2012, she was the Dean of the Faculty of Law and Challis Professor of International Law at the University of Sydney. From 2005 to 2007, she was the Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law. Gillian graduated in Law from the University of Melbourne in 1968 and gained a PhD in 1982.
She has dedicated her career to working with governments and international organisation, advising them on human rights laws. She is focused on the implementation of human rights treaties, to which Australia has signed, and implementing them into Australian law, as well as working with nations in the Asia Pacific region on practical approaches to human rights. To this day, she remains steadfast on her mission to introduce a Bill of Rights to Australia.
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