In recent years, Lawyers for Lawyers has received many reports about harassment from lawyers representing clients with an LGBTIQ+ identity or are perceived as such. Around the world, lawyers are being threatened because of their work on these cases. To raise awareness on this issue and support these lawyers, with the support of the Foundation Allemansrecht, Lawyers for Lawyers has initiated the ‘Access to Justice Campaign’. This campaign was launched on 16 May 2024 at an event at the Rode Hoed in Amsterdam, which was co-organised by the Amsterdam Bar Association.
Boris Dittrich, Senator and former Human Rights Watch LGBT+ Advocacy Director, opened the event with a keynote speech on the global perspective on access to justice for the LGBT+community. He emphasized that justice can be a powerful tool for progress.
The three panellists
The three panellists, lawyers from Georgia, Uganda and Netherlands, talked about the specific challenges that lawyers and their LGBT+ clients experience. They expressed concerns about the growing anti-LHBTI+ climate and the extent to which the LGBT+ community maintains access to justice. They also mentioned, drawing on their own experience, the role that lawyers play in promoting LGBT+ rights. A lawyer from Netherlands spoke about the upcoming Supreme Court ruling (expected on 12 July) on same-sex marriage in Aruba/Curaçao and highlighted the potential impact that this ruling could have on LGBT+ rights.
One component of the Access to Justice Campaign is a research to the specific difficulties lawyers face when assisting clients with LGBT+ identities. Lawyers for Lawyers interviewed 30 lawyers from 12 different countries in recent months. During the event, Shagoofa Rahmani presented the preliminary findings of this research.
For instance, the research showed that lawyers are often seen as promoters of homosexuality and are regularly identified with their clients. A lawyer from Nigeria said, ‘In a murder case, the judge will not stereotype me and call me a murderer, either jokingly or intentionally, because the judge believes that I am doing my job honestly and to the best of my ability at the time. But in LGBT+ cases, the first thing the judge will say is: where is that gay lawyer?’
Lawyers representing LGBT+ clients also fear for their personal safety and well-being. 79 % of the interviewed lawyers face threats, online harassment and physical violence. ‘I don’t care what they say about me, but I do care when my life is threatened.’ Last July, two IEDs were placed under my car,’ said a Malaysian lawyer during one of the interviews. The constant fear that they could be the target of threats and violence affects lawyers’ mental well-being and leads to their increasing isolation from society.
Out of fear for reprisals, lawyers increasingly choose not to work on LGBT+ cases. This also results in reduced access to justice for people who identify as LGBT+. Lawyers play a crucial role in protecting and promoting LGBT+ rights. From September onwards, interviews with the lawyers from the 12 different countries will be published on the L4L website.
L4L is grateful to the speakers and moderator for their presence and contributions during the seminar. We would also like to thank the Amsterdam Bar Association for making this event possible, and Foundation Allemansrecht for enabling us to launch this campaign.
