October 31, 2018

A passion for social justice inspires Cleo’s work in indigenous law

Law graduate leaves corporate role to volunteer in Northern Territory

Cleo Patrizi has always had a passion for social justice. In high school, she was involved in causes around the environment, human rights, and was part of the debating team.

When she arrived at the University of Wollongong to begin her undergraduate law degree in 2014, Cleo naturally gravitated towards subjects that strengthened her knowledge of the world around her and highlighted the challenges facing people in Australia and around the world.

“In my later years of study, most of my elective subjects revolved around social justice issues, such as children and family law, gender and sexuality in the law, animal law, the criminal justice system, public interest law, and Indigenous Peoples and the law,” Cleo said.

“The subject that really stood out to me was Indigenous Peoples and Legal Systems. It is a subject that I think you shouldn’t have to wait and choose as an elective in your later years of study to encounter. It should be a foundation subject, because it is so fundamental to what every law student ought to know about the country we live in.”

Now, Cleo has put her passion into action. She has spent the past four months volunteering with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency, a role she landed after quitting a job in the corporate world. It required her to move to Katherine, located four hours outside Darwin in the middle of the Northern Territory, which provided her with vital context about the systemic discrimination faced by Aboriginal people in the legal system and daily life.

The experience, Cleo said, has been unforgettable. It has opened her eyes to the wide reaching injustice that Aboriginal people face in the Katherine Region, including overrepresentation in Court and in prison, and lack of access to culturally appropriate services (or services at all). It has also given her a great appreciation for the extraordinary resilience of Aboriginal peoples and the ongoing strength of their culture, language, art and tradition.

“I think a lot of people focus on human rights that happen outside our borders,” said Cleo, who graduated with a Bachelor of Laws (Honours) during Wednesday’s ceremony. “But I’m a firm believer in addressing what is happening in our own backyard before we start telling other countries how to treat people. There is a huge overrepresentation of Aboriginal adults in prison and Aboriginal kids in youth detention, statistics that reflect the system in which Aboriginal people are living in the NT.”

“I was working in corporate law, in civil litigation, and I didn’t like it. But I knew the only way I would make the change would be to quit, so I did. There was something pulling me towards working with Aboriginal people who come into contact with the colonial legal system. I thought that I couldn’t serve Aboriginal people in Sydney without first understanding the real-life impact of this legal system on Aboriginal people.

Cleo said her work with the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency was eye-opening as to the difference good legal representation can make to an individual’s life. She described being in court and receiving a great result for a client, who thanked her with tears in his eyes.

“You can see the direct impact of your work,” she said. “No one ever wants to have to use our services, but it’s great to be able to help people at such a tough time and make a difference to the outcome.”

Cleo has now relocated back to Sydney after accepting a position with the NSW Department of Public Prosecutions.