About This Site
In 2001 the Victorian Parliament passed the Statute Law Amendment (Relationships) Act and the Statute Law Further Amendment (Relationships) Act, giving same-sex couples legal recognition in such areas as anti-discrimination law, health, inheritance, property division, death compensation and State superannuation.
To translate this progressive change into a lived and widespread experience of equality, it was vital that those affected by it knew about it, understood it, and used it. It is this sentiment that prompted the conversion from the hard-copy publication Over the Rainbow-a Guide to the Law for Lesbians and Gay Men in Victoria, into a more comprehensive, detailed and searchable website. Here it is!
Over the Rainbow online was an initiative of the Victorian Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby and the Department of Justice. It formed part of a broader community legal education campaign, including a series of educational forums, which reached lesbians and gay men throughout regional, rural and metropolitan Victoria, as well as those who are socially or otherwise isolated from services and networks.
It was realised that through initiatives like this, lesbians and gay men in Victoria obtained better understandings of how they can use the law to enforce their right to equal treatment and to protect themselves and their (newly recognised) families from the effects of discrimination.
Over the Rainbow Online website credits:
Written and researched by Jennifer Lord and Lynn Buchanan
Web design and development by Gordon Lescinsky
Updated in 2004/05 by Lynn Buchanan and Jamie Gardiner
Updated further in 2006 by Aly M, Gerard Brody and Jamie Gardiner.
Website updated in 2007 by Lee Matthews and Glyn Cryer using 2006 content.
