Monday Lunch Live
How human rights law can be used to progress cancer prevention and control
9 December 2024.
On the eve of International Human Rights Day, join members of the cancer community and human rights experts to find out why cancer prevention and control is a human rights issue. The audience will also learn about the advantages of using human rights framing and a human rights-based approach for cancer prevention and to advocate for those affected by cancer.
All aspects of cancer prevention and control interest with human rights issues – yet human rights principles are underutilised in policy and advocacy framing for cancer prevention and care. The Australian Government has made international commitments to protect and advance human rights and is currently considering how to better protect these obligations domestically.
With the human rights landscape in Australia evolving, it’s crucial that the cancer community understand the benefits of greater human rights protection for cancer control and people affected by cancer, and how a human rights framing of cancer prevention and care can provide cancer advocates with a lever to hold governments to account on their human rights obligations relevant to cancer – such as the right to health.
This session will feature speakers from the McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer, the Human Rights Law Centre and members of the cancer community to explore the practical impacts of human rights protection on those with lived experience of cancer and the work of cancer clinicians.
Chair
Ms Hayley Jones
Director, McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer
Hayley Jones is Director of the McCabe Centre for Law & Cancer, a joint initiative of Cancer Council Victoria, the Union for International Cancer Control and Cancer Council Australia. Hayley leads the McCabe Centre’s legal experts based in Australia, Samoa, Kenya, New Zealand and the Philippines. Through world-leading research and training programs, the McCabe Centre empowers individuals, organisations and governments to use law to prevent cancer and other noncommunicable diseases, and to advance equitable health care for all people.
The McCabe Centre hosts the WHO Collaborating Centre of Law and Noncommunicable Disease and the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Knowledge Hub on Legal Challenges. Hayley is Co-Chair of the Executive Board for the Australian Network of WHO Collaborating Centres and sits on the WHO WPRO Technical Advisory Group on NCDs. Dual-qualified as a lawyer in Australia and England, Hayley’s background includes legal initiatives supporting access to justice, health and education for children, migrants and people living in poverty, focused on ensuring no one is left behind.
Speakers
Ms Tarishi Desai, Manager
Treatment & Supportive Care, McCabe Centre for Law and Cancer
Tarishi Desai leads the McCabe Centre’s work on using law to address cancer care and control issues including improving access to cancer care, human rights and cancer inequities, and the regulation of health service providers and health information. Tarishi sits on the Advisory Board of the Union for International Cancer Control’s Cancer Advocates Program.
Tarishi has worked as a solicitor advising both individuals and organisations including those in the health and aged care sector. Her legal experience has a strong focus on social justice issues including anti-discrimination and equal opportunity and promoting human rights. Prior to her legal career, Tarishi worked as clinical researcher with the University of Melbourne’s Department of Medicine and has published both scientific and legal academic papers.
Mr Daney Faddoul
Campaign Manager, Human Rights Law Centre
Daney Faddoul is a Campaign Manager at the Human Rights Law Centre. His work focuses on advocacy for a National Human Rights Act in Australia. Daney has significant experience as a social justice campaigner and in political engagement activities. Daney studied law at the University of Western Sydney and is passionate about creating an Australian Human Rights Act because it will help prevent human rights violations from occurring, will be a powerful tool for people and communities to challenge injustice, and will foster better understanding and respect for human rights within the community.
Ms Natalie Maxwell-Davis
Community representative
Natalie has lived experience of cancer and is committed to improving the experiences and outcomes of people affected by cancer. She believes that adopting a holistic, patient-centred approach is essential to achieving this. Natalie has extensive involvement as a community representative and has worked with Cancer Council Victoria as a community advisor on a range of research projects and is a founding member of Cancer Council Victoria’s Community Reference Committee. As a lawyer with expertise in human rights, Natalie is focused on assisting vulnerable groups and currently manages the modern slavery program at the Australian Red Cross.
Professor Phillip Parente
Director of Cancer Services, Eastern Health; Consultant Medical Oncologist, Epworth Eastern.
Prof Phillip Parente's main areas of interest are Genitourinary Cancers, Lung Cancers and Melanoma and he is considered a clinical lead in these areas of oncology. With respect to oncology research, he is principal investigator of numerous trials in his areas of interest. This has translated to numerous publications and presentations at local and international oncological conferences.
Prof Parente has professional interest in teaching and training. He is a senior member of the National Examining Panel for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and past chair Advanced Trainee Committee Medical Oncology for the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He is also the current Treasurer and Executive Committee Member of the Medical Oncology Group of Australia, (MOGA) and the Co-Chair of Cancer Council Victoria’s Clinical Advisory Network. Prof Parente has completed a Master of Health and Medical Law and a Master of Human Rights Law at Melbourne University.