Jennifer Robinson - ChangeMaker Chat

About this episode

Jennifer Robinson has spent her career working at the intersection of law, power and social change. An Australian barrister based in the UK, Jennifer is a leading media and human rights lawyer. She represented Amber Heard in Johnny Depp’s UK defamation case against The Sun, acted for Julian Assange for 14 years, and has become a prominent advocate for women confronting violence, abuse and legal systems that too often silence them. She is the co-author of How Many More Women? and features in the documentary Silenced. In November 2026, she will receive the Sydney Peace Prize in recognition of her work. In this ChangeMaker Chat, Jennifer talks about the experiences that drew her to the law and shaped her approach to movement lawyering: working in the law not simply to win individual cases, but as part of a broader effort to change systems and shift power. She explores what #MeToo revealed about the failures of legal systems, including the ways defamation and other laws can be used by powerful people to silence women and journalists. This is a conversation about what it takes to make a difference when the systems you are trying to change are powerful, entrenched and often stacked against you. Jennifer reflects on the role of law, but also on its limits — and on why lasting change depends on people organising, building movements and working together to shift what is possible. You can find out more about the Sydney Peace Prize and how to get tickets to be part of the ceremony with Jennifer in November:https://sydneypeacefoundation.org.au/sydney-peace-prize-gala-dinner-2/ For more information about Silenced and where you can go and see the documentary see:https://www.silenced-film.com/where-to-watch You can find out about How many more women - now in its full uncensored version:https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Jennifer-Robinson-and-Keio-Yoshida-How-Many-More-Women-9781761471797 Several people mentioned in this episode have previously been on ChangeMakers, and you can listen to their episodes here:Chanel ContosGrace Tame Photo credit: Mark Rogers ========For more on ChangeMakers check us out:Via our Website - https://changemakerspodcast.org (where you can also sign up to our email list!)Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChangeMakersPodcast/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/changemakerspodcast/Threads: https://www.threads.com/@changemakerspodcastBlue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/changemakerspod.bsky.social For more on the books and Amanda’s writing, have a look at:Her latest book Conscious Tribes: thinking differently about making a difference, and her book with Kurt Iveson - People Power in Cities - here and via Oxford Uni Press.Amanda’s website is here https://amandatattersall.com/ - on Medium and Substack And - her much earlier book about coalition building - Power in Coalition and via Cornell Uni Press Amanda is on Socials here:On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amandatattersall/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amanda.tattersallBlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/amandatattersall.bsky.socialThreads: https://www.threads.com/@amandatattersallTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amanda.tattersall Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.