{"id":2415,"date":"2025-04-23T18:00:27","date_gmt":"2025-04-23T06:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/womensliberationaotearoa.org.nz\/?p=2263"},"modified":"2025-05-18T16:28:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-18T04:28:26","slug":"lava-at-the-hrrt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/womensliberationaotearoa.org.nz\/women-s-lib-stag\/lava-at-the-hrrt\/","title":{"rendered":"LAVA at the HRRT: Update and Fundraising Appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

WLA has agreed to post this update and fundraising appeal from Lesbian Action for Visibility in Aotearoa, in relation to their upcoming case in the Human Rights Review Tribunal.<\/em><\/p>

23 April 2025<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

LAVA at the Human Rights Review Tribunal:\nUpdate and Fundraising Appeal<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
Shut out for celebrating ourselves: Lesbians excluded from Pride for honouring women’s history.<\/h5>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lesbian Action for Visibility in Aotearoa (LAVA) was formed to celebrate the lives, history, and contributions of lesbian women in New Zealand. But in March 2021, an unexpected controversy arose when LAVA was banned from participating in Wellington Pride\u2019s Out in the City event \u2014 not because of what we planned to share, but because of what we believe. What follows is the story of how celebrating lesbian women\u2019s history became a cause for exclusion \u2014 and why this fight matters for all who value truth, women\u2019s rights, and lesbian visibility.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

UCU_and_Unison_strike_placard_<\/em>
(fair_pay_now)<\/em>
1 March 2022, 11:09:15<\/em>
by Alarichall; Wikimedia Commons<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Lesbian Action for Visibility in Aotearoa (LAVA), is a typical gender critical lesbian group, with the usual concerns and strategies. This particular concern began in March 2021 with LAVA being told the Pride organisers were cancelling our booking for a stall at Out in the City \u2013 the fair which is one of the main events in the Wellington Pride calendar. It is important to realise that the cancellation was nothing to do with the purpose of our stall which was to display an inspiring map of Wellington places of historical, political and social significance to lesbians. The cancellation was because of what we believed. Wellington Pride have never asked for details of the proposed LAVA stall, and they did not respond to our request for a meeting to discuss the issue.<\/p>

Cancelled for our beliefs: LAVA\u2019s exclusion from Wellington Pride<\/h6>

They were cancelling our booking because LAVA believes that sex and gender are different, that people can\u2019t change sex and that lesbians (and gay men) are same-sex, not same-gender, attracted. Attending a Pride celebration while holding such views would, they said, make any trans people who might also be there feel unsafe, and the Pride organisers believed they had a responsibility to ensure the \u201cmost marginal of the marginalised\u201d were safe and not harmed.<\/p>

On the day of the fair, LAVA displayed the map at a demonstration outside the event. Pride supporters, including some Board members mounted a noisy counter-protest, holding signs bearing slogans such as \u201cFuck TERF Cunts\u201d. At one point they surrounded us, chanting in our faces such things as \u201cpack your shit and go\u201d. Lesbians from stalls inside the event were harassed when they came outside to show us support.<\/p>

From demonstration to legal challenge: defending lesbian visibility<\/h6>

We were aware that New Zealand was not the only country where lesbians were being banned from Pride for holding these same beliefs, and felt outraged that lesbians, many of whom had worked to set up Pride in the beginning, were now banned because we don\u2019t subscribe to the belief that gender is more important than sex. We thought speaking up about this and challenging Pride\u2019s decision, was critical in the ongoing effort to ensure that lesbians remain visible and that young lesbians (and gay men) know that they have choices and that being gender non-conforming does not mean that they were born in the wrong body and are really the opposite sex.<\/p>

We subsequently made a complaint to the Human Rights Commission (HRC) and then attended two mediation sessions with the Wellington Pride Board. We didn\u2019t reach a resolution through mediation and after much discussion and deliberation, LAVA finally decided to lodge a complaint with the Human Rights Review Tribunal alleging that Pride breached the Human Rights Act (HRA) when they excluded us from the Out in the City fair.<\/p>

They unlawfully discriminated against LAVA on the basis of our political opinions about trans issues and women\u2019s rights, and because of our views that sex and sexual orientation exclude trans women from being women and lesbians. We say that in inviting applications for stalls, Pride was offering a service and so should not discriminate on the basis of political opinion (sections 21(1)(j) and 44 of the Human Rights Act 1993). Victoria University of Wellington political philosopher, Ramon Das, has provided an expert opinion that LAVA\u2019s views on these issues are political opinions, and will appear as a witness for us.<\/p>

LAVA\u2019s case is important for everyone with gender critical or sex realist beliefs, because the debate over whether views such as ours are “worthy of respect in a democratic society” has not yet been had here. No New Zealand Court has confirmed that such opinions are political and that discrimination against people for holding these views is prohibited by the Human Rights Act 1993. Our HRA protects political and ethical beliefs but not philosophical beliefs. \u201cPolitical\u201d has traditionally been given a narrow interpretation but has not been tested by a case of this nature.<\/p>

Pride denies that LAVA\u2019s opinions are \u201cpolitical opinions\u201d and sets out the multiple circumstances that, in its view, demonstrate LAVA\u2019s support for \u201canti-trans rhetoric\u201d and for known \u201canti-trans activists\u201d.
We are represented by Nicolette Levy KC, who is instructed by Franks Ogilvie, lawyers of Wellington. Ms Levy acted for Speak Up For Women (SUFW) in 2021, securing a judgment from the High Court of New Zealand requiring Palmerston North City Council to allow SUFW to hold a meeting to discuss proposed self-ID amendments to the Births, Death, Marriages and Relationships Registration Act. The Supreme Court of New Zealand has confirmed that that case was correctly decided. Ms Levy also acted for Speak Up For Women in a claim in the Human Rights Review Tribunal against Christchurch City Council for discrimination on the basis of political opinion. This claim was settled, with an agreed joint statement being published.<\/p>

Pride\u2019s expert witnesses (up to 19 in total) have not addressed this \u2018political\u2019 issue at all. Essentially, they have taken the line that our beliefs are hateful and bigoted and therefore not worthy of protection. It is this number of witnesses who have pushed out the hearing time to four weeks. We have to respond to them otherwise it seems as though there is no one with expertise in this area who agrees with us and that we are out on a limb. Fortunately, we have a number of high-profile New Zealand and international experts who are supporting us and showing that we are not alone in the views we hold.<\/p>

And, of course, we now know that 5 judges of the Supreme Court in the United Kingdom agree with us too.<\/p>

The dates for our 4-week hearing later this year are:<\/p>