South Africa calls for comments on progressive GBV Bill
Structural and legislative innovations aim to respond to gender-based violence plaguing South Africa. Recently, the “Victim Support Services Bill” (“Bill”) was presented for public comment. The Bill aims to address...
Forced hysterectomies in detention: Immediate and long-term responses to ICE abuse needed
On September 14, 2020, Project South and whistleblower Dawn Pooten filed a complaint with the US Department of Homeland Security alleging forced hysterectomies at an Irwin County Detention Center (ICDC),...
The Inter American Court of Human Rights sets standards on the gender-based violence continuum in educational settings
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...
India: Sharma v. Sharma – Constitutional Equality for Hindu Women?
On 11th of August 2020, a three-judge bench of the Indian apex court decided that its previous interpretation, of the words contained within s.6 of the Hindu Succession Act, was...
Vicarious liability for acts of sexual and gender-based violence by teachers in Kenya
In Teachers Service Commission v WJ & 5 others [2020] eKLR, the Court of Appeal held that the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC), a body with the constitutional responsibility to employ...
One step closer to gender justice: Equal inheritance rights to Hindu daughters
The Supreme Court of India, in a landmark order delivered on 11 August, 2020, cleared all legal cobwebs surrounding equal division of a Hindu ancestral property. Through this judgement, the...
The Patriarchal Justice System of Bangladesh Fails Laws Preventing Dowry Violence
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...
Black Women are Leading the Largest Social Movement in U.S. History—and Their Lives Matter Too
Two months after George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, protests continue across the United States (U.S.). From large urban cities to small rural towns,...
Protecting Abortion, Respecting Disability: Moving Beyond “Fetal Impairment” Grounds in the Treaty Bodies
In June 2020, the Supreme Court of the United States narrowly maintained that states could not unduly burden women’s access to abortion. The case in question, June Medical Services v....
A drought-stricken and marginalised Tharparkar: The right to water and COVID-19 in Pakistan
The people of Tharparkar (Thar), Pakistan, called ‘Tharis’, have been facing water scarcity for years. In the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, the provision of quality water is essential. While...
Gender Based Violence Courts in Pakistan: A Gap in Gender Equality Remains, but a Promising Start
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...
Abortion In Northern Ireland – We Have Decriminilisation What Comes Next?
After decades of campaigning, parliamentary debates, court cases, national and international inquiries abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019 by the UK government. In doing so it became...
