- Public International Law, Violence Against Women, Reproductive rights, Human rights in childbirth; actor-oriented perspectives on human rights, Women's Human Rights, Gender Equality, and 9 moreGender and the Law, Human Rights, Human Rights Law, Gender Stereotyping, Sexual and reproductive health and rights, United Nations, Women's Rights, Feminist legal theory, and Human Rights and Advocacyedit
‘Women’s rights are human rights!’ This notion may seem self evident, as the international system for the promotion and the protection of human rights that was installed under the auspice of the United Nations (UN) builds on the idea of... more
‘Women’s rights are human rights!’ This notion may seem self evident, as the international system for the promotion and the protection of human rights that was installed under the auspice of the United Nations (UN) builds on the idea of equality in dignity and rights of men and women. Yet, as was convincingly showed by critics of this system, it is not. In 1993 a lobby of women’s rights activists and organisations from all over the world gathered in Vienna at the World Conference on Human Rights to make clear to the 171 states represented there that the international human rights system ignored blatant human rights violations that occur on a daily basis in the lives of women from all over the world. The states represented at the World Conference recognised this deficiency of the international human rights system and called upon the monitoring bodies of the mainstream international human rights treaties to include the status and human rights of women in their deliberations and findings. This study examines whether two of these monitoring bodies: the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) have taken up this call. It thereby focused specifically on matters that affect women’s physical integrity. The study shows that the HRC and the CESCR make good use of the possibilities within their mandates to address issues that affect women’s physical integrity: they address not only issues like rape and domestic violence, but also for example female genital mutilation, unsafe abortions, and lack of access to contraceptives. It is in this respect interesting to note that the monitoring bodies do not consider abortion to be a violation of any human right, but, on the contrary, recommend states that have general prohibitions on abortion to amend their laws and allow for abortion under certain circumstances. Moreover, the HRC and the CESCR generally formulate obligations for states parties that take into account the gender-specific form, circumstances and consequences of these human rights abuses. But the HRC and the CESCR could and should do more. Only in a few instances do the bodies expressly link issues like rape, female genital mutilation, and trafficking of women to discrimination of women in societies. Hence, the recommendations of the HRC and the CESCR generally do not request the states parties to tackle the root cause of human rights abuses and constraints: the subordinate position of women in society. Further action is required to overcome this deficit. In this, NGOs and academics also have an important role to play, as they should make the bodies aware of the discriminatory background and nature of specific situations and issues and could present them with ideas on how best to tackle these underlying causes. What is clear is that the request of the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights is not a short-term assignment for the monitoring bodies, but rather is a process that will be ongoing for as long as gender inequality exists. The commitment of not only UN agencies, but also academics, and NGOs is required to transform the international system so as to ensure that it fully accommodates and responds to human rights abuses and constraints that are typical of women’s lives, now and in the future
Research Interests: Contraception, Women's Rights, United Nations, Trafficking in Women, Female Genital Mutilation, and 16 moreViolence Against Women, Prostitution & Trafficking, Abortion, Rape and Sexual Assault Law, Women's Human Rights, Teenage Pregnancy, Maternal and Child Health, Maternal Mortality, Pregnancy, Sexual and reproductive health and rights, Contraceptives, Human Rights,Women's Rights, Sexual and Reproductive Rights, Forced Sterilization, Human Rights Committee, Maternal Deaths, and Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
This article offers a critical feminist reading of the home birth jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The aim is to shed light on the gender sensitivity of the Court in its legal reasoning and knowledge production. Since... more
This article offers a critical feminist reading of the home birth jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights. The aim is to shed light on the gender sensitivity of the Court in its legal reasoning and knowledge production. Since its first decision on the permissibility of a blanket de facto home birth ban in the case of Ternovszky v. Hungary in 2010, the Court has given five judgments on the matter, including a Grand Chamber decision in the case of Dubska and Krejzova v. Czech Republic. The author finds that the Court applies an overtly restrictive obstetric narrative of childbirth without situating its controversial epistemic basis. In doing so, the Court reinforces a rationale that is linked to loss of agency and disempowerment of persons in childbirth and reproduces harmful stereotypes. The article highlights bias in knowledge formation and (re)production at the Court in addressing cases of home birth. The findings in this article add to feminist inquiries of international human rights adjudication, specifically in regard to knowledge formation, knowledge production and stereotyping as well as to literature on the Court’s gender sensitivity.
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This year’s pride season marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an event that, while not the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement in the United States, should at least be viewed as one of the first major milestones in the... more
This year’s pride season marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an event that, while not the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement in the United States, should at least be viewed as one of the first major milestones in the movement’s history. In the Netherlands, too, the history of LGBT activism has been commemorated in the recent exhibition ‘With Pride’, organised by IHLIA LGBT Heritage (see the review by Michiel Odijk in this issue). After its first successful run at the Amsterdam Public Library, the exhibition toured the Netherlands and opened in Utrecht during its annual pride festivities on June 3. While praised for its thorough documentation of 40 years of Dutch queer resistance, there was also critique. A number of activists and scholars pointed to a lack of inclusivity and representation, which they argued compromised the exhibition’s validity.Wigbertson Julian Isenia and Naomie Pieter, founders of Black Queer and Trans Resistance Netherlands (BQTRNL) and Black Q...
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Although the international human rights system of the United Nations builds on the idea of equality in dignity and human rights of all human beings, critique has been heard that the system is andocentric and mainly protects these rights... more
Although the international human rights system of the United Nations builds on the idea of equality in dignity and human rights of all human beings, critique has been heard that the system is andocentric and mainly protects these rights for men. If this is true, it indicates that the system may not address concerns related to the process of human reproduction, concerns that highly influence the enjoyment of human rights by women. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action called upon the monitoring bodies of the international human rights treaties to include human rights of women in their deliberations and findings. This article explores whether the Human Rights Committee includes human rights related to reproductive concerns of women in its work. It argues that although the Human Rights Committee pays some attention to reproductive issues that affect women, it does not often acknowledge individual rights in this respect and as such does not fully promote and protect their digni...
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Selma Civek was murdered by her husband. It was the denoue-ment of years of battering and abuse. Last week the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled that Turkey had violated Civek's right to life. It deemed it unnecessary to... more
Selma Civek was murdered by her husband. It was the denoue-ment of years of battering and abuse. Last week the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) ruled that Turkey had violated Civek's right to life. It deemed it unnecessary to examine the alleged violation of article 14 of the Convention: the prohibition of discrimination. Although the Court found that Turkey had violated the Convention and ordered the state to pay compensation, the judgment is very disappointing. The Court did not question the role that Civek's gender played in the case and therefore ignored the gendered reality of domestic violence and the particular response that is needed to tackle this widespread human rights problem. Instead, it dealt with the case in a gender-neutral fashion, treating Civek's death as it would any other murder, fo-cusing on the question whether the authorities knew or could have reasonably known that Civek's life was in danger and-if so-acted with due diligence. What is even more disquieting is that the Court observed-without any apparent reason-that domestic violence not only affects women but also men and children and thus seemed to second-once more-to the worrisome ambiguity regarding the nature of domestic violence as a (non)-gendered human rights issue that also entered the text of the Convention on Preventing and Combating violence against women and domestic violence (the Istanbul Convention).
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Research Interests: Sexual and Reproductive Health, Human Rights Law, Human Rights, Gender, Violence Against Women, and 10 moreWomen's Human Rights, Gender Discrimination, Gender stereotypes, European Court of Human Rights, Gender, Sexuality and Human Rights, Amicus Curiae, Sexual and reproductive health and rights, Home Birth, Reproductive rights, and Womens Human Righs
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The United Nations (UN): a promotor and protector of human rights? Most of my students snort at the suggestion. Their scepticism is understandable. They see a world in which wars rage on, refugees search for shelter by the millions,... more
The United Nations (UN): a promotor and protector of human rights? Most of my students snort at the suggestion. Their scepticism is understandable. They see a world in which wars rage on, refugees search for shelter by the millions, police violence often goes unpunished, political opponents are arrested, and countries unilaterally attack other countries without repercussions. The UN may serve as a forum for political debates but it does nothing for the realisation of human rights on the ground, they argue. Are they right? In order to answer that question one should first know what the UN has done in the past 70 years to further the human rights of all. Below I provide a concise overview of the activities the UN has undertaken to promote and protect human rights. For reasons of space and time, I have limited myself to the mechanisms established by the UN that have as their sole purpose the furtherance of human rights; therefore I do not discuss, for example, resolutions or measures adopted by the UN Security Council or the UN General Assembly (UN GA). Although this overview will not provide the reader with an answer as to whether the UN de facto realises human rights (which would require much more research than has currently been done), it does provide a better insight into the institutional measures the UN has taken to further the human rights of all. I first have a brief look at the history of the UN's involvement with human rights, going back to the 1940s when the Organisation was established. I then highlight the main features of the system in place to monitor the human rights situation in member states of the UN. Finally, I shed some light on a number of challenges
Research Interests: International Relations, Human Rights, International Human Rights Law, United Nations, Human rights council, and 6 moreUniversal Declaration of Human Rights, Human Rights Monitoring, UN Human Rights Council, Human Rights Treaties, International Human Rights Treaties, and UN Human Rights Monitoring and Enforcement Mechanisms
‘The legal system is designed to protect men from the superior power of the state but not to protect women or children from the superior power of men.’ It is a quote from Harvard psychiatrist Judith Herman in an article on domestic... more
‘The legal system is designed to protect men from the superior power of the state but not to protect women or children from the superior power of men.’ It is a quote from Harvard psychiatrist Judith Herman in an article on domestic violence in the Guardian last weekend. The androcentric nature of international human rights law has been well documented.[1] Gender mainstreaming was championed in the 1990s as the approach to rectify this deficiency. But although some steps were taken – i.e. domestic abuse is no longer considered to be an issue that falls outside the realm of human rights – the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights (the Court) on domestic violence shows that the required transformation of the system is not yet in sight.[2]
The case of Buturuga versus Romania of the Court of last February offers another classic example in this respect. Although the comments of the Court on cyber violence as an aspect of domestic abuse are noteworthy – the judgment at large is not. The most significant conclusion to be drawn from Buturuga versus Romania is that gender mainstreaming – or (consistently) applying a gender-sensitive approach – remains ostensibly still too difficult a task for the Court.
The case of Buturuga versus Romania of the Court of last February offers another classic example in this respect. Although the comments of the Court on cyber violence as an aspect of domestic abuse are noteworthy – the judgment at large is not. The most significant conclusion to be drawn from Buturuga versus Romania is that gender mainstreaming – or (consistently) applying a gender-sensitive approach – remains ostensibly still too difficult a task for the Court.
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This year's pride season marked the 50 th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an event that, while not the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement in the United States, should at least be viewed as one of the first major milestones in the... more
This year's pride season marked the 50 th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, an event that, while not the beginning of the Gay Rights Movement in the United States, should at least be viewed as one of the first major milestones in the movement's history. In the Netherlands, too, the history of LGBT activism has been commemorated in the recent exhibition 'With Pride' , organised by IHLIA LGBT Heritage (see the review by Michiel Odijk in this issue). After its first successful run at the Amsterdam Public Library, the exhibition toured the Netherlands and opened in Utrecht during its annual pride festivities on June 3. While praised for its thorough documentation of 40 years of Dutch queer resistance, there was also critique. A number of activists and scholars pointed to a lack of inclusivity and representation, which they argued compromised the exhibition's validity.Wigbertson Julian Isenia and Naomie Pieter, founders of Black Queer and Trans Resistance Netherlands (BQTRNL) and Black Queer Archive, represent two of these critical voices and address the structural exclusion of queers of colour in history writing and archival practices in their work. Julian co-edited the previous issue of Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies (vol. 22(2): ‘Sexual Politics Between the Netherlands and the Caribbean: Imperial Entanglements and Archival Desire’) and, together with Gianmaria Colpani, Julian and Naomie organised the roundtable ‘Archiving Queer of Colour Politics in the Netherlands’ (Colpani, Isenia, & Pieter, 2019). In response to the IHLIA exhibi- tion, they proposed an exhibition under the title Nos Tei (Papiamentu/o for ‘We are here’ or ‘We exist’), which is to serve as an addition to the original ‘With Pride’ exhibition and ran independently from 11 July until 4 September
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Around a month ago, the Court ruled in Civek v. Turkey that it was not necessary to examine the applicant’s complaint of discrimination in a domestic violence case that ended in death. This was disheartening, especially because in recent... more
Around a month ago, the Court ruled in Civek v. Turkey that it was not necessary to examine the applicant’s complaint of discrimination in a domestic violence case that ended in death. This was disheartening, especially because in recent domestic violence judgments the Court has always addressed alleged violations of article 14. What was perhaps even more disturbing about the Civek judgement was that the Court – without any apparent reason – observed that men can also be victims of domestic violence, thereby implying that domestic violence is a gender neutral phenomenon. In doing so, it seconded to the worrisome wording of the Istanbul Convention,[1] which – by denoting that men may also be victims of domestic violence and by referring to violence against women and domestic violence – explicitly positions the latter as a gender neutral form of violence.
Rejoice the latest domestic violence judgment of the Court in M.G. v. Turkey! Here the Court does find it necessary to examine the alleged violation of article 14, and – noteworthy – specifically refers in this context to its previous findings in Opuz and Durmaz regarding the discriminatory climate in Turkey. It speaks purposefully of ‘violence against women’ and thereby firmly classifies the experiences of M.G. as gender-based. And, notably, the Court refers in its reasoning to various provisions of the Istanbul Convention, but refrains from citing the aforementioned contentious passages. There is therefore good reason to believe that Civek was a one-time-only mishap, and that the Court is back on track as far as acknowledging the gendered nature of domestic violence is concerned.
Rejoice the latest domestic violence judgment of the Court in M.G. v. Turkey! Here the Court does find it necessary to examine the alleged violation of article 14, and – noteworthy – specifically refers in this context to its previous findings in Opuz and Durmaz regarding the discriminatory climate in Turkey. It speaks purposefully of ‘violence against women’ and thereby firmly classifies the experiences of M.G. as gender-based. And, notably, the Court refers in its reasoning to various provisions of the Istanbul Convention, but refrains from citing the aforementioned contentious passages. There is therefore good reason to believe that Civek was a one-time-only mishap, and that the Court is back on track as far as acknowledging the gendered nature of domestic violence is concerned.
Research Interests: Domestic Violence, Human Rights Law, Human Rights, International Human Rights Law, Stereotypes, and 12 moreStereotypes and Prejudice, Discrimination, Gender Equality, Equality, Violence Against Women, Gender Discrimination, Gender based violence, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence, Gender stereotypes, European Court of Human Rights, Gender-Based Violence, and Systemic Discrimination
In this special issue of Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies we examine the gendered implications of ‘Fortress Europe’, a metaphor for the closing of Europe’s borders in the context of European unification. The consequences of ‘Fortress... more
In this special issue of Tijdschrift voor Genderstudies we examine the gendered implications of ‘Fortress Europe’, a metaphor for the closing of Europe’s borders in the context of European unification. The consequences of ‘Fortress Europe’ are not limited to those outside its borders who wish to enter Europe. Rather, the EU’s migration regime encompasses multiple forms of differential treatment, which produces and affects particular racialised and gendered subjects inside Europe´s boundaries.
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Presentation on the home birth jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights for the 'Sexual Politics of Freedom' Conference at the Irish Centre for Human Rights of Galway University, 17 September 2020.
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Taking stock of UNHRL case law, Centre for Global Public Law, Koç University, Istanbul, Turkey, 8 June 2017
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Symposium on Gender-based Violence and Human Rights, organised by Atria - Institute on Gender Equality and Women’s History and the University of Amsterdam on 8 December 2018
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NUI Galway, Ireland, 2 February 2017