Image: Jerry Mutagubya
Marijke Bassani
Marijke is a Lama Lama/Lamalama, Binthi Warra (Guugu Yimithirr Nation) and Bulgun Warra woman from the Cape York Peninsula in remote Far North Queensland, Australia. She is also multilingual with her first language being Guugu Yimithirr and her second, East Cape York Kriol.
Marijke is a commercially trained international Human Rights Lawyer, First Nations LGBTQIA+ Scholar and Advocate, Photographer and Creative with over a decade of legal experience, specialising in International law with a focus on discrimination and human rights relating to Indigeneity, race, gender, sexuality and cultural heritage. Sitting on multiple executive, non-executive boards and subcommittees across Australia and the globe, Marijke has also been awarded a host of international and national scholarships in recognition of her outstanding leadership and humanitarian work. Marijke is an American Australian Association Scholar, UC Berkeley Scholar, Roberta Sykes Scholar, Macquarie Group Foundation Scholar, Aurora Education Foundation Scholar, Cape York Leaders Scholar and has twice been awarded the Pride Foundation Australia national LGBTQIA+ grant.
Marijke is currently in her final year of completing a cross-border PhD in International law under the joint supervision of the University of New South Wales Law & Justice and the University of California Berkeley Center for Race & Gender where she was also the Visiting Scholar and Human Rights Lawyer in-residence in 2022-23.
Advocacy
An internationally accomplished and commercially trained Lawyer with experience in the corporate, government, not-for-profit and social justice legal sector, Marijke’s approach to advocacy is multidimensional in nature. It has involved advocating inside corporate boardrooms, on academic and legal committees and subcommittees, including at the United Nations Human Rights Council Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP).
On both the international and national stage, Marijke has advocated for protecting the rights and voices of First Nations LGBTQIA+ peoples from around the world. During her time as Visiting Scholar and Human Rights Lawyer in-residence at the UC Berkeley Center for Race & Gender Marijke was invited to present her international cross-border PhD project on First Nations gender and sexuality diversity at the UC Berkeley Spring Forum Series. This led to an invitation to speak at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.
Marijke’s advocacy has also been recognised by Oxford University who invited her to contribute a chapter on First Nations gender and sexuality diversity to the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Indigenous Peoples and International Law (2024). This led to a second invitation to contribute a chapter to the Oxford University Press’ forthcoming Anthology Series on Indigenous Law: Plural Pathways to Reclaiming Heritage (2025) which Marijke was invited to present in-person at an International law workshop held in Germany at the University of Münster.
Marijke's Expertise
- Legal Consultancy + Policy + Research
- United Nations Adocacy + Written Statements
- First Nations LGBTQIA Strategy + Cultural Safety + Anti-Racism + Anti-Queerphobia Education
- Keynotes + Speaking Engagements
- Executive + Non-Executive Board Directorships & Memberships
- Project Management
- Lecturing
- Clinical Legal Supervision
- Academic Chapters + Journal Articles
- Freelance Writing + Photography
- Research Ethics Review + Advice
- Parliamentary Committee Inquiry + Law Reform Commission Submissions
- Panel Moderation + Participation
Past &
Current Work
Marijke is currently completing the final leg of her cross-border PhD study in International law at UNSW and UC Berkeley which explores through an intersectional Indigenous Queer lens the invisibility, and hyper visibility, of Cape York Indigenous LGBTQIA+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy peoples within their communities, the wider community and legal system. Marijke’s PhD project has already attracted international attention, being flagged as a valuable source to draw from in redeveloping the global contemporary Indigenous-rights legal protection framework.
After submitting her PhD Thesis in 2025, Marijke will commence the second phase of her PhD study—a Human rights photography grassroots project titled Welcoming the Unwelcome: A Black Rainbow Homecoming . This will be a 3-4 year Cape York Peninsula-based project that will involve taking portraits and collecting contemporary personal narratives about community life and culture for First Nations LGBTQIA+ Sistergirl and Brotherboy peoples who will be photographed in clothing, poses and locations of their choosing. All portraits and contemporary personal narratives collected will be collated into a photography book. All proceeds generated from the book will be returned directly to those who featured in it to help build financial wellness and autonomy for First Nations Cape York LGBTQIA+ peoples.
Publications
Marijke’s written work has been featured in a variety of prestigious international and national publications and forums that include the Oxford Handbook, Oxford University Press, Santander Art & Culture Law Review, the United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner and Lawyers Weekly.
Acknowledgement
of Country
I acknowledge the sovereignty and ancient (kin)nection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to their lands, skies and seas. I honour and pay my respects to Elders, Ancestors, Knowledge Holders and Keepers, existing and emerging Leaders. Sovereignty over our lands, spirits and bodies was never ceded and continues today. Land back. Bodies back.
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How are you?
My name is Marijke