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Madhulika T - 23rd June 2020
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 […]
Zarizana Aziz - 7th June 2020
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 […]
Rachel Wechsler - 8th May 2020
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 […]
Jessica Anania - 6th March 2020
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, […]
Jade Weiner - 1st January 2020
In criminal law, the doctrine of common purpose establishes that where two or more people agree to a commit a crime, each will be responsible for the acts of the others that fall within their common purpose or design. In the landmark judgement of Tshabalala v The State; Ntuli v The State, the South African […]
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 […]
Stergios Aidinis and Ivo Gruev - 26th November 2019
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Kevät Nousiainen - 22nd July 2019
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 […]
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 […]
Anissa Daoudi - 7th July 2019
The 19th of June is celebrated as the UN International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict. In this context, Security Council Resolution 1820, in 2008, recognized sexual violence as a tactic of war and a threat to global peace and security. It recognized that rape and other forms of sexual violence can […]