Law and Gender Commons^™

Interjurisdictional Abortion Wars In The Post-Roe Era, Maya Manian

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The Supreme Court appears poised to overrule fifty years of precedent holding that pre-viability prohibitions on abortion are unconstitutional. In a leaked draft opinion of Dobbs v. Jackson Women Health Organization, Justice Alito proclaims that Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey must be overruled and abortion left to the states to regulate. During oral argument in Dobbs, Justice Kavanaugh suggested that overturning Roe would return the Court to a postion of "neutrality" on abortion. Justice Kavanaugh's assertion falls in line with claims by anti-abortion jurists that reversing Roe would simplify abortion law by returning the issue to the …

White Silence And Violence: Positionality And Storytelling In Women’S Rights Movements, Inka Boehm

Human Rights Brief

Our identity impacts everything about how we move through the world as individuals. In the legislative process, identity is often disregarded but has detrimental effects if ignored. Positionality describes how society shapes identities through power and privilege. This methodology requires researchers to analyze their world with their own privileges in mind and is often overlooked by policymakers.

Sexual Violence As A Weapon Of War In Ethiopia's Tigray Region And The Developing Adjudication Of Violations Of The Protocol On The Rights Of Women In Africa, Valerie R. Cook

American University International Law Review

On November 4, 2020, a civil war broke out in the Tigray region of Ethiopia between joint Ethiopian and Eritrean military forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (“TPLF”). The war is in part an ethnic conflict between the newly centralized nationalist government under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the once politically dominant beneficiaries of a federalist system, the TPLF. Sexual violence as a method of war has become a hallmark of this conflict as reports of rape by Ethiopian and Eritrean soldiers against Tigrayan women have increased.

Punishment And Prejudice: Reproductive Coercion In Immigration And Customs Enforcement Detention Centers, Inka Skłodowska Boehm

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Introduction

Pauline Binam arrived in the United States from Cameroon as a toddler, with no notion of the dangers her new home had in store. At twenty-eight years old, Pauline found herself separated from her daughter and awaiting deportation in the Irwin County Detention Center in Ocilla, Georgia. Pauline consented to what she believed was a minor procedure after suffering from irregular menstrual bleeding, an ailment likely triggered by her two-year confinement. Unbeknownst to Pauline, the doctor removed one of her fallopian tubes, barring her ability to give birth to more children. A year later, Pauline came forward following a …

Civil Rights In The Workplace: It's Time To Cut The Excess And Get To The Truth, Hnin N. Khaing

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

On February 8, 1964, during the last few hours before the enactment of the Civil Rights Act, thanks to an individual described as a “racist, male octogenarian,” Congress haphazardly added “sex” as a prohibited basis for discrimination alongside race, color, religion, and national origin under Title VII1 of the Act. It was not until two decades later, in 1986, that the Supreme Court recognized sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination under Title VII. Five years later, Anita Hill’s riveting public testimony, during the nomination hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas, ignited a nationwide discussion on sexual harassment. A quarter …

Social Justice As Desistance: Rethinking Approaches To Gender Violence, Deborah M. Weissman

American University Law Review

Scholars and activists have directed increasing attention to the failure of the U.S. criminal legal system and the institutions of mass incarceration it has wrought and have identified the need for transformative changes in approaches to acts of harmful behaviors. Proponents of reforms have advocated for legal corrections to constrain sentencing practices, and remedy racial disparities in imprisonment to mitigate rates of incarceration and related punishments. COVID-19 release campaigns have revealed both the egregious conditions of prisons and the irrationality of punishment paradigms. Indeed, not a few abolitionists have repudiated the criminal legal system.

Denouncing The Revival Of Pre-Roe V. Wade Abortion Bans In A Post-Dobbs World Through The Void Ab Initio And Presumption Of Validity Doctrines, Nora Greene

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

The United States Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade in a leaked draft of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Written by Justice Alito and joined by four of the other conservative justices, the decision describes Roe as “egregiously wrong from the start” and blatantly overrules the landmark holding and its prodigy, Planned Parenthood v. Casey. In their state codes, nine states—Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas Michigan, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Texas, West Virginia, and Wisconsin— have unrepealed criminal abortion bans enacted before Roe. These bans prohibit abortion at any point in pregnancy unless to preserve the life of the pregnant person …

A Second Chance At Choice?: Challenging Abortion “Reversal” As Law And Medical Practice, Christen Hammock Jones

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Introduction.

I felt like my soul was crying and pleading with the Lord on behalf of my baby’s life. I know God heard my prayer because Elizabeth called me back with the answer to my prayers: Patsy and Willie from the San Juan Diego center. I went to see Patsy the next morning at 7 am, less than 12 hours since I took the first pill. Of course, I was nervous, but I decided I had to trust the solution that God had provided me with. The morning I was scheduled to go and see Patsy, she called me and …

Stereotyping Evidence: The Civil Exception To The Federal Rape Shield Law And Its Embedded Sexual Stereotypes, Ramona Albin

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Toxic Therapy: Examining The Constitutionality Of Conversion Therapy Bans In Light Of Otto, Kathleen Stoughton

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

No abstract provided.

Unmasking The Nineteenth Amendment Centennial Through The Pandemic Lenses Of Liberty, Loss, Masculinity, And Leadership [Comments], Jamie Abrams

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

Celebrating the Centennial of the Nineteenth Amendment in this political, economic, and social moment was a tale of two extremes. On the one hand, the Centennial occurred contemporaneously with the election of Kamala Harris as the nation's first woman Vice President offering a tremendous celebratory bookend of political success. On the other hand, we celebrated the Centennial amid a global pandemic that has taken over 740,000 American lives2 and in a crescendo of searingly painful calls for racial justice. In reflecting on the Centennial in this political, social, and economic moment, this article unmasks the lenses of loss, liberty, masculinity, …

Feminism’S Transformation Of Legal Education And Unfinished Agenda, Jamie Abrams

Contributions to Books

Feminism has had a broad influence in legal education. Feminist critiques have challenged the substance of legal rules, the methods of law teaching, and the culture of legal education. Following decades of advocacy, feminist pedagogical reforms have generated new fields, new courses, new laws, new leaders, and new feminist spaces. There are many reasons to celebrate the accomplishments of our feminist pioneers and champions. Yet, COVID-19 has also exposed all the vulnerabilities and tenuousness of feminist gains too. Critical work remains for faculty, administrators, and students to carry the work forward with a vigilant purpose and determination.

The Way To Barbara Armstrong, First Tenure-Track Law Professor In An Accredited Us Law School, Susan Carle

Contributions to Books

This is the third volume in a trilogy on gender issues in legal occupations. An overview of Women in the World ’ s Legal Professions (Schultz and Shaw 2003) was followed by Gender and Judging (Schultz and Shaw 2013), finally to be completed by this study on women teachers of law. All three books have been published by Hart Publishing, to whom we are grateful for their unceasing support over so many years. Our thanks also go to the International Institute for the Sociology of Law for facilitating the inclusion of all three volumes in their O ñ ati Socio-Legal …

Speaking Femicide, Caroline Davidson

American University Law Review

Femicide is typically defined as the killing of a woman because she is a woman. It has been the subject of mass protests in cities from Buenos Aires to Paris and in some places has made the leap to law as a crime unto itself or basis for a sentencing enhancement in homicide cases. Proponents of the label of femicide seek to bring attention to gendered violence against women and end a culture of tolerance and impunity for such violence. Meanwhile, in the United States, it is neither legislated nor discussed.

This Article explores the concept of femicide and asks …

To Shatter The Glass Ceiling, Clean The Sticky Floor And Thaw The Frozen Middle: How Discrimination And Bias In The Career Pipeline Perpetuates The Gender Pay Gap, Rachel Dibenedetto

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

I. INTRODUCTION

Women crack the glass ceiling, but rarely pierce the surface. When women do shatter the glass, they do so in small strides, achieving minor victories. This glass, an invisible discriminatory barrier, the cultural predispositions filled with gender bias, inhibits women from career advancement from reaching the ceiling. Many refused to recognize this often unspoken phenomenon until the United States Department of Labor called for action. In enacting anti-discrimination legislation and bridging the gender education gap, women made remarkable headways in overcoming hurdles, yet the roots of the challenge still remain. How can women shatter the glass ceiling if …

My Body Is Note My Choice Anymore? How Conscience Protections For Doctors Violate An Individual’S Right To Use Contraceptives And The Establishment Clause, Wanying Yang

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Introduction

After a month of waiting, Evann finally met her gynecologist for a consultation on her first intrauterine device (IUD). However, before Evann told the gynecologist her request and symptoms, the gynecologist emphasized she was in a Catholic hospital and that they only prescribe oral contraceptives to patients with heavy cramping. The gynecologist then passed Evann an unofficial paper with an IUD provider’s number and expressed sorrow regarding Evann’s decision to use contraceptives. Evann walked out of the hospital without any information on the IUD, but instead with frustration and shame.

A Labor Of Love: Finding Justice For Victims Of Workplace Sexual Harassment Excluded From Title Vii, Abigail M. Whitmore

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

I. Introduction

“Sexual harassment perpetuates the interlocked structure by which women have been kept sexually in thrall to men and at the bottom of the labor market. Two forces of American society converge: men’s control over women’s sexuality and capital’s control over employees’ work lives.”

I first began working with children as a college student in a part-time daycare position and eventually moved into a full-time nanny position after graduating. Working as a nanny was the perfect option for me at the time, as I was seeking temporary work in between my undergraduate education and law school. The opportunity also …

Who Decides "The Best Interests Of The Child?": Strengthening Legal Protections For Intersex Persons Against Sexual And Gender-Based Violence, Lucette Moran

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

The Tortured Woman: Defying The Gendered Conventions Of The Convention Against Torture, Linda Kelly

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Legislative Review Of "The Transgender Persons (Protection Of Rights) Act, 2019", Aastha Khanna, Divesh Sawhney

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Trapped In The Binary Divide: How Forced Contraceptives Violate The World Anti-Doping Code, Alexandria Adkins

American University International Law Review

No abstract provided.

Domestic Violence And Self-Defense: Respecting Women's Autonomy By Creating A Woman-Centered Law Of Self-Defense, Caroline Gillis

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Incarcerated Women: Reproductive Healthcare Concerns Silenced By The Prison Litigation Reform Act, Amanda Feldman

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

The Georgia Life Act: Limiting Women's State Constitutional Right To Privacy, Phoebe Varunok

Upper Level Writing Requirement Research Papers

No abstract provided.

When Your Colonizers Are Hypocrites: Federal Poverty "Solutions" And Indigenous Survival Of Sex Trafficking In Indian Country, Alix Bruce

Celebrating WCL Student Authors

No abstract provided.

The #Metoo Movement In Comparative Perspective, Dr. Joanne Sweeny

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

Introduction.

The #MeToo movement is one of the most far-reaching social media movements in history and its impact can still be felt years later. As the hashtag in the name suggests, the #MeToo movement gained the bulk of its momentum on Twitter but the movement’s actual origins began on MySpace in 2006. Tarana Burke, a long-time activist, founded the nonprofit organization Just Be Inc., which serves survivors of sexual assault and harassment. Burke came up with the concept of “me too” in 1997 when she was counseling a 13-year-old survivor of sexual abuse at a youth camp. Burke states that …

Onlyemployees: Ending The Misclassification Of Digital Sex Workers In The Shared And Gig Economy, Mary Marston

American University Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law

I. Introduction

Mia Khalifa was only paid a total of $12,000 in shooting fees during her ten-month career in the adult film industry, but she remains one of the most searched adult film stars of all time. Social and monetary discrepancies between adult film stars’ payment and the revenue made by pornography studios parallel the difficulties other sex workers face, like exotic dancers and prostitutes, especially in terms of their misclassification as independent contractors instead of employees.

In addition to this misclassification, sex workers face a lack of financial and physical protections in traditional sex work. These lack of protections, …

Promise Amid Peril: Prea's Efforts To Regulate An End To Prison Rape, Brenda V. Smith

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

This Article discusses the modest aspirations of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (“PREA”) that passed unanimously in the United States Congress in 2003. The Article posits that PREA created opportunities for holding correctional authorities accountable by creating a baseline for safety and setting more transparent expectations for agencies’ practices for protecting prisoners from sexual abuse. Additionally, the Article posits that PREA enhanced the evolving standards of decency for the Eighth Amendment and articulated clear expectations of correctional authorities to provide sexual safety for people in custody.

Harassment, Workplace Culture, And The Power And Limits Of Law, Suzanne B. Goldberg

American University Law Review

This article asks why it remains so difficult for employers to prevent and respond effectively to harassment, especially sexual harassment, and identifies promising points for legal intervention. It is sobering to consider social-science evidence of the myriad barriers to reporting sexual harassment—from the individual-level and interpersonal to those rooted in society at large. Most of these are out of reach for an employer but workplace culture stands out as a significant arena where employers have influence on whether harassment and other discriminatory behaviors are likely to thrive. Yet employers typically make choices in this area with attention to legal accountability …

Doubling Down On A Billion Dollar Blind Spot: Women Business Owners And Tax Reform, Caroline Bruckner

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.