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Amanda Dale - 11th December 2019
There is an initiative for a new treaty focused on violence against women that calls itself the “Every Woman Treaty”. It is proposed as a stand-alone United Nations (UN) treaty focused on violence against women. The initiative originates from outside the United Nations. Its proponents have been present at various international women’s rights gatherings for […]
Sumaiyah Kholwadia - 25th November 2019
The UK’s Draft Domestic Abuse Bill, 2019 has been described as a ‘landmark’ piece of legislation. This recognition is due in part to the Bill’s extension of the definition of ‘domestic abuse’ to include ‘economic abuse’. However, due to recent political events pertaining to Brexit, the Bill has been side-lined and we have now entered […]
Shauna Olney - 25th November 2019
“For me, as for most women workers I know, this Convention and this Recommendation are personal… This Convention, and its recognition of violence and harassment as a range of behaviours and practices, tells me that what I have experienced counts.” – Worker delegate, at the adoption of Convention No. 190 and Recommendation No. 206. On […]
Natalia Brigagao - 19th September 2019
The Brazilian Superior Court of Justice (STJ) established a new precedent asserting that women who suffer domestic violence are entitled to a court-determined paid work leave of six months or less. Employers must pay the first 15 days of salary, while the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) is responsible for providing for the remaining […]
Francesca Gallelli - 6th September 2019
Calls for the protection of reproductive and sexual health are included in an increasing number of resolutions of the General Assembly and the Human Rights Council concerned with women’s rights, indicating the centrality of this area for women’s freedom and well-being. Yet, the enthusiasm for the important development quickly turns into dismay, when the focus […]
Tuur Desloovere - 11th August 2019
A decision of the Belgian Constitutional Court is the latest in a series of judgments in Europe deciding essentially the same question: should non-binary gender identities be recognized by (non-binary) gender/sex markers on official documents? This post explores the different answers offered by courts across Europe. On 19 June 2019, the Belgian Constitutional Court ruled […]
Dahee Chung and Andrew Wolman - 4th August 2019
Since 1953, abortion has been illegal in Korea, except for cases of rape, incest, severe genetic disorders, specific diseases, or threat to a woman’s health. There is a maximum two-year sentence for doctors who perform the procedure, and women who have abortions are subject to a fine and prison sentence of up to a year. […]
Lyndon Baines-Johnson and Mwai Daka - 22nd July 2019
In February 2019, President Bio of Sierra Leone declared a state of emergency to combat rape and sexual violence. However, if the declaration is to have full effect, ambiguities and gaps within the country’s legal framework need to be cleared up, and replaced by clear law preventing child marriage, and sexual and gender-based violence. Most […]
Sadaf Vafa - 21st July 2019
In February 2019, the news of an 11-year-old girl being married to a man who was almost 50 years old, caused severe criticism of the Iranian Civil Code, which allows for the marriage of children under the age of 18. According to the most recent statistics by UNICEF, 17 percent of girls in Iran are […]
Natalia Brigagao - 18th July 2019
In 1998, there was an explosion at an irregular, high-risk fireworks factory in the city of Santo Antônio de Jesus, Brazil, which led to 64 deaths and left six people severely injured. Survivors and family members were not offered due access to justice, which led them to report the violations to the Inter-American Commission of […]
Christine Kahura - 13th June 2019
The narrow basis for the procurement of abortions in Kenya discriminates against women and girls based on their sex and gender. The most adversely affected are poor women and girls living in rural and informal settlements. These women must rely on unsafe back street abortions that pose a risk to their lives. One such woman […]
Rishika Sahgal and Andrew Byrnes - 3rd June 2019
This year sees the centenary of the abolition of the legal barriers to women’s entry into the legal profession in the United Kingdom. The Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 (UK), which commenced operation on 23 December 1919, provided that a person should not be disqualified ‘by sex or marriage from entering or assuming or carrying […]