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OxHRH

The Inter American Court of Human Rights sets standards on the gender-based violence continuum in educational settings

Monica Arango Olaya - 7th September 2020

Gender Based Violence

Guzmán Albarracín and Others vs Ecuador, adopted by the Inter American Court of Human Rights in June 2020, is historic. This is the first case in the Inter American Human Rights System that addresses sexual violence against a teenager in the public education system, and that in itself is a landmark. However, its contributions to […]

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The Patriarchal Justice System of Bangladesh Fails Laws Preventing Dowry Violence

Adity Rahman Shah - 12th August 2020

Equality and Non-Discrimination| Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

Being a party to the CEDAW, Bangladesh promises to promote women`s equality in every sphere. But the discriminative approaches to Dowry crime prevention framework in Bangladesh brought by the existing patriarchal justice system is violating women`s right to equality before law under the national and international human rights standards. In Bangladesh, section 2 (j) of […]

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OxHRH

Pre-Menstrual Syndrome Induced Insanity – A Double-Edged Sword

Madhulika T - 23rd June 2020

Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

In a judgment with wide-ranging consequences, the Rajasthan High Court (“High Court”) in India has accepted the defence of Pre-Menstrual Syndrome (“PMS”) induced insanity into the criminal jurisprudence of India. At face value, it could be argued that this is a progressive development in the law. However, a close inspection of the judgement and the evidence […]

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OxHRH

Gender Based Violence Courts in Pakistan: A Gap in Gender Equality Remains, but a Promising Start

Zarizana Aziz - 7th June 2020

Gender Based Violence

Available data indicated that in Pakistan, only 2-3% of rape perpetrators were convicted. In light of this, the then Chief Justice of the Lahore (Punjab) High Court invited the Asian Development Bank to provide technical assistance on judicial training, capacity building initiatives and the first-ever gender-based violence court in Asia. In order to design the […]

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OxHRH

Domestic Violence in the Age of Coronavirus: Additional Reporting Barriers and Potential Immigration Consequences in the U.S.

Rachel Wechsler - 8th May 2020

Gender Based Violence

Increases in the incidence of domestic violence have been reported across the globe during the coronavirus outbreak, tied to the widespread institution of stay-at-home orders and spike in unemployment, among other financial stressors. In a number of U.S. cities, such as Boston, Seattle, Pittsburgh, and Kansas City, police reports of domestic violence have increased by […]

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OxHRH

Sexual Violence and Genocide: The International Court of Justice’s ruling on Rohingya

Jessica Anania - 6th March 2020

Access to Justice| Criminal Justice| Gender Based Violence

Since August 2017, at least 10,000 Rohingya – a Muslim minority group in Myanmar’s Rakhine state – have been killed and 700,000 have fled to neighboring Bangladesh amidst a brutal army crackdown and clearing operation. Widespread sexual violence with “genocidal intent” was also documented, including rape and gang rape perpetrated against women, girls, men, boys, […]

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OxHRH

CEDAW: The Every Woman Treaty that Already Exists

Amanda Dale - 11th December 2019

Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

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 […]

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OxHRH

Accountability for Sexual Harassment at the International Criminal Court – The Case of Defence Support Staff

Stergios Aidinis and Ivo Gruev - 26th November 2019

Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

In March 2018, amid the rise of the #MeToo hashtag on Twitter, international media brought attention to a series of uninvited advances by an experienced defence counsel at the ICC towards a younger, female case manager during a professional trip. This incident arose in relation to the so-called ‘Article 70 case’ of Mr Jean-Pierre Bemba-Gombo […]

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OxHRH

Intersectional Barriers Hindering the Effectiveness of the UK’s Draft Domestic Abuse Bill, 2019

Sumaiyah Kholwadia - 25th November 2019

Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

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 […]

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OxHRH

Brazilian Superior Court of Justice Decides that Victims of Domestic Violence are Entitled to Paid Work Leave – While New Legislation Could Hinder Their Right to an Adequate Standard of Living

Natalia Brigagao - 19th September 2019

Gender Based Violence| Gender Equality

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 […]

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OxHRH

The ILO adopts Convention concerning violence and harassment at work

Kevät Nousiainen - 22nd July 2019

Gender Based Violence

Sexual harassment, an expression of violence against women (VAW), received remarkable media attention with the #MeToo Movement. It was a reminder of the law’s poor track record in curbing workplace harassment and other forms of gendered violence. In the international legal context, the ILO approach to VAW in the workplace has followed two tracks. Harassment […]

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