Some lesbians' perceptions of the Human Rights Act 1993

Abstract

From 1 February 1994 lesbians and gay men were granted protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation through the Human Rights Act 1993. This much celebrated victory is also notable for being the first piece of New Zealand legislation to explicitly include the word 'lesbian'. This represents a shift in the location of lesbians within legal discourse - a discourse which has partly waged its violence by constituting lesbians as unviable subjects. This qualitative research explores some lesbians perceptions of legal visibility within the Human Rights Act 1993, and some possible effects for lesbian subjectivity. This research explores issues relating to activating the legislation as lesbian subjects, and identifies the subject positions made available to lesbians in human rights discourse. This is achieved through the thematic and discourse analysis of group discussion and individual interview texts. The Human Rights Act 1993 was used by the lesbians involved in this research to create a position from which it was possible to legitimately speak as lesbian. However, it was considered practically difficult to activate due to a lack of knowledge and trust in complaint procedures. The Human Rights Act 1993 was also perceived as providing 'visibility', 'recognition', 'acceptance' and an acknowledgment of our 'right to exist'. However, the subject positions largely available to lesbians through the Human Rights Act 1993 were disempowering and normalising. This research suggests that lesbian access to the Human Rights Act 1993 is ideologically and practically inhibited because discrimination must be proven in reference to heterosexual norms, which affirm the dominant order and promote individualised and depoliticised subjectivities. It is argued that the concept of human rights must be extended to include lesbians as 'lesbian citizens', not just as citizens, and that rights be granted on the basis of this difference.