Feature
Social justice in action Kelly Southworth Editor
As part of our celebration of 40 years of co-education at Carey, we invited one of our Inaugural Girls to speak at International Women’s Day this year. Kairsty Wilson (OCG 1979), human rights lawyer and disability advocate, came to Carey from Tintern for her final year of schooling. Her parents believed it would be a great opportunity for her to come out of her shell before she went on to study nursing. ‘We all went on a camp before we came to Carey for the first day, and it was very difficult the night before I went. I remember stressing about my clothes and what I would take and that there weren’t many girls, and I thought, “This is the worst decision.” But the camp was okay and I went and had a fantastic year, I met some great people and met my first boyfriend.’ After leaving Carey, Kairsty studied nursing at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne. She worked there for a few years and in that time had her daughter, Josie, but she soon realised that she needed to do something more. She didn’t feel challenged enough at the hospital, and she had noticed in herself a sense of justice, a desire to stand up for the underdog and an acute understanding of what is right and fair. It only made sense to her from there that she should study law. Studying and working full-time while raising a child was a difficult time for 8 | Torch
Kairsty, but with the help of her parents, she made it through and was admitted to practice. Her first job as a solicitor was with a health industry union, before moving to a private practice. One of the greatest internal challenges she had in this job was charging clients, who, for the most part, didn’t have much money.
Legal Centre (AED), a centre whose primary goal is to defend the human rights of people living with disabilities. The AED’s services are free of charge, and the work perfectly suited Kairsty, who was always passionate about defending the rights of others and standing up against injustice.
‘I hated the fact that we had to charge the clients. They very often received very little money for a claim, and then the fees were taken out of it. I didn’t like that, especially as we’re talking about people who don’t have a lot of money. So from there I thought I need to find a job that gives me the chance to represent people who need it without having to charge them.’
In 2018, the AED represented around 300 clients and dealt with about 600 issues. One of the centre’s particular focusses is supporting workers who are employed by Australian Disability Enterprises (ADEs). ADEs are organisations who offer employment opportunities for people living with disabilities, with similar working conditions to other employees, providing a chance for these people to contribute to and connect with their local community.
From there, Kairsty discovered the Association of Employees with Disability
