Law and Gender Commons^™

Global Sex Trafficking And The Trafficking Victims Protection Act Of 2000: Legislative Responses To The Problem Of Modern Slavery, Rosy Kandathil

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Human trafficking is becoming the fastest growing criminal activity in the world. Generally, trafficking is defined as the transportation of persons across international borders for labor purposes, by means of force, fraud, or coercion. Commerce directly related to human slavery yields approximately $7-$10 billion a year, trailing only behind drugs and weapons trade for international profit. According to recent congressional findings, over 700,000 human beings are trafficked across international borders each year, including approximately 50,000 women and children into the United States. Women and girl children are the primary targets for sexual exploitation into prostitution, pornography, sex tourism, and other …

Cambridge Law School For Women: The Evolution And Legacy Of The Nation's First Graduate Law School Exclusively For Women, Nina A. Kohn

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

Although several scholars have briefly discussed CLSW in conjunction with work on other subjects, this Article presents the first comprehensive history of the school. The Article begins in Section Two by exploring how and why CLSW came into being in 1915 after two young Radcliffe suffragists led an unsuccessful campaign for admission to Harvard Law School. Section Three examines the design, pedagogical foundations, and day-to-day workings of the school during its first two years. Sections Four and Five explore the historical events that led to CLSW's closure in 1917. These sections also document and discuss the school's subsequent, and previously …

Ethics In Medicine: With A Special Focus On The Concepts Of Sex And Gender In Intersex Management, Natascha Gruber

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article critiques the binary sex/gender system and its application in intersex medical management, arguing that it leads to harmful practices. It proposes a more flexible model to respect individual autonomy and reduce medical intervention, promoting ethical treatment that prioritizes patient consent and well-being.

Lawrence Summers At The Nber Conference: The Real Deal, Taunya Lovell Banks

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

No abstract provided.

Pornography As Trafficking, Catharine A. Mackinnon

Michigan Journal of International Law

In material reality, pornography is one way women and children are trafficked for sex. To make visual pornography, the bulk of the industry's products, real women and children, and some men, are rented out for use in commercial sex acts. In the resulting materials, these people are then conveyed and sold for a buyer's sexual use. Obscenity laws, the traditional legal approach to the problem, do not care about these realities at all. The morality of what is said and shown remains their focus and concern. The injuries inflicted on real people to make the materials, or because they are …

Toward True Shalom Bayit: Acknowledging Domestic Abuse In The Jewish Community, Lydia M. Belzer

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article examines the intersection of domestic abuse and Jewish law, focusing on how religious teachings, such as the concept of shalom bayit (peace in the home), are often misused to justify remaining in abusive relationships. It highlights the barriers women face in obtaining a religious divorce (get) and the stigma associated with domestic abuse (shonda), which discourages victims from seeking help. The analysis critiques the misuse of religious laws and advocates for reinterpretation to prioritize victims' safety and well-being. The article emphasizes the need for education, awareness, and improved support systems within the Jewish community to address these issues …

Marriage, Divorce, And Inheritance Laws In Sierra Leone And Their Discriminatory Effects On Women, Pamela O. Davies

Human Rights Brief

No abstract provided.

Reducing Private Violence Against Women In Public Housing: Can Second Generation Cpted Make A Difference?, Walter S. Dekeseredy, Alvi Shahid, Claire M. Renzetti, Martin D. Schwartz

CRVAW Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Hands Off Policy: Equal Protection And The Contact Sports Exemption Of Title Ix, Jamal Greene

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

The disparity between what the Constitution permits of public schools and what Title IX permits of private ones is unquestionably stark. This Article calls this disparity into question. First, it asks under what circumstances, if any, allowance for sex discrimination in athletics may be justified under constitutional standards. Then, it considers the practical relevance of the disparity between how a school may lawfully discriminate under Title IX and how it may do so under the Equal Protection Clause. Finally, it offers a prescription for bringing into balance the gender equity messages sent by Title IX and the Constitution.

"Has The Millennium Yet Dawned?": A History Of Attitudes Toward Pregnant Workers In America, Courtni E. Molnar

Michigan Journal of Gender & Law

This Article will focus on what might be considered the "prehistory" of the PDA in an attempt to shed new light on the equality/difference debate. Beginning as early as the nineteenth century, pregnant workers have been forced into either the equality approach or the difference approach depending mostly on race and class. This Article will show that, at times, both approaches restrained the autonomy of women and even caused harm to individual women and society by contributing to the development of the stereotypes and social attitudes that continue to permit pregnancy discrimination today.

Domestic Violence And Mediation: Responding To The Challenges Of Crafting Effective Screens, Jane C. Murphy, Robert Rubinson

All Faculty Scholarship

Over the last two decades, mediation of family law cases has become well-established in American courts. As mediation has grown, experts have recognized that power imbalances between couples may interfere with mediation. This imbalance is particularly evident where one partner has been abusive to the other. Widespread consensus has developed that decisions about whether mediation is appropriate are particularly crucial and delicate when domestic violence is present. Despite this consensus, there is evidence that courts are still ordering couples who have experienced domestic violence to mediate their family law disputes with little or not particularized examination of the couples' circumstances. …

Legal Images Of Fatherhood: Welfare Reform, Child Support Enforcement, And Fatherless Children, Jane C. Murphy

All Faculty Scholarship

This Article analyzes the issue of paternity disestablishment, an issue courts and legislatures have been struggling with over the last several years. For a variety of reasons explored in this Article, an increasing number of fathers have filed requests to set aside paternity orders seeking to be relieved of the legal obligations of fatherhood. As a result families have been destabilized and children are becoming fatherless. The implications for the future of the family are profound. Although some scholars have examined this phenomenon, none have addressed the link between paternity disestablishment and welfare reform.

This Article explores the law's evolving …

An Experiment In Integrating Critical Theory And Clinical Education, Margaret E. Johnson

All Faculty Scholarship

Critical theory is important in live-client clinical teaching as a means to achieve the pedagogical goals of clinical education. Feminist legal theory, critical race theory, and poverty law theory serve as useful frameworks to enable students to deconstruct assumptions they, persons within institutions, and broader society make about the students' clients and their lives. Critical theory highlights the importance of looking for both the "obvious and non-obvious relationships of domination." Thus, critical theory informs students of the presence and importance of alternative voices that challenge the dominant discourse. When student attorneys ignore or are unaware of such voices, other voices …

Gender And Globalization, Christine M. Chinkin

Book Chapters

Christine Chinkin examines the impact of globalization on the public/private dichotomy and the status of women. She begins by tracing how traditional power structures, organized around the public/private division, lead to the subordination of women. The weakening of the nation-state at the end of the twentieth century offers a potential challenge to this gender hierarchy, but the emergence of economic forces associated with globalization and the transition to free market economies in the countries of the former Soviet bloc threaten women's struggle for equality.

Using Postmodern Feminist Legal Theory To Interrupt The Reinscription Of Sex Stereotypes Through The Institution Of Marriage, Jessica Knouse

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

The institution of marriage has long been an engine of the subordination of women, the normalization of relationships and the repression of individual desires. This Article suggests that the time has come to dismantle the institution and end its deleterious impact upon society. The Article begins by defining "sex" and "sex stereotypes" and by examining, from various feminist perspectives, the influence of sex stereotypes upon individual identity creation. The Article proceeds to review the historical development of marriage, illustrating that marriage inevitably reinscribes sex stereotypes, and arguing that the institution and the stereotypes are presently so intertwined that disaggregation is …

Asking Adolescents: Does A Mature Minor Have A Right To Participate In Health Care Decisions, Cara D. Watts

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

Many children approaching the age of majority struggle with severe and sometimes terminal illnesses. Does such a minor possess a Fourteenth Amendment Due Process right to participate in medical decisions concerning her care, or is her fate left solely in the hands of her parents and the State? This Note examines the health care rights of minors and attempts to give a voice to children, a vast, silent population in this country, in the medical care context. After examining such fundamental cases as Belotti v. Baird, this Note finds numerous exceptions, crafted by the courts over several decades in a …

Criminal Prosecution And Civil Remedies For Victims Of Sexual Offenses: Amendment Of The Rape Shield Law, Carol E. Jordan, Elizabeth S. Hughes, Mary Jo Gleason

Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women Publications

In 2003, the Kentucky Supreme Court adopted the amended KRS 412, effectively making the language of KRE 412 consistent with the analogous Federal Rule of Evidence 412. Now, as in federal court, the provisions of the Rape Shield Law apply in both criminal and civil cases to govern when and how evidence of a victim's alleged sexual behavior or sexual predisposition may be introduced. The article describes the intent of the original Rape Shield Law and the implications of its amended version in both civil and criminal cases.

An Implied Warranty Of Freedom From Sexual Harassment: The Solution For Harassed Tenants Where The Fair Housing Act Has Failed, Theresa Keeley

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

Although sexual harassment in the workplace is recognized as a problem, sexual harassment in housing has largely been ignored. When confronting sexual harassment in housing, courts have borrowed standards for sexual harassment in the workplace. Criticism of this practice exists; however this Article examines the real source of the problem: bringing sexual harassment claims under the Fair Housing Act. Specifically, this Article shows how and why the Fair Housing Act fails to address the problem of sexual harassment in housing. To remedy this failure, this Article proposes an "implied warranty of freedom from sexual harassment" that both restores the tenant's …

Women In Science: Biological Factors Should Not Be Ignored, Kingsley R. Browne

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article argues that biological and psychological differences between sexes contribute to the underrepresentation of women in certain fields, challenging the assumption that equal representation is always the appropriate goal. It critiques the notion that disparities necessarily indicate systemic flaws, emphasizing that freedom of choice should allow for different occupational outcomes without implying discrimination.

A Woman Of Property: From Being It To Controlling It - A Bicentennial Perspective On Women And Ohio Property Law, 1803 To 2003, Sarah Miller Little

UC Law SF Journal on Gender and Justice

This Article reviews the development of women's legal rights, by tracing the right of a married woman to own and control real property from after the American Revolution to the present. Early feminist leaders were much of the impetus for change in women's real property laws. The Article examines the early feminist movement in Ohio, and the profound effects of the many, courageous feminist leaders on Ohio property law.

Instructions In Inequality: Development, Human Rights, Capabilities, And Gender Violence In School, Erika George

Michigan Journal of International Law

This Article argues that the international community's gender equality targets will not be realized by 2015 because the problems associated with sexual violence against girls in schools are situated at an intersection of contested conceptual divides between human rights (civil and political liberties) and development aims (social and economic needs). Cracks in the conceptual foundations of both the liberal and utilitarian theories of justice and equality, which support traditional human rights advocacy and economic development plans, respectively render each approach inadequate to fully identify and address the grave danger sexual violence and harassment in schools pose to educational equality. In …

The Feminist Pervasion: How Gender-Based Scholarship Informs Law And Law Teaching, Deseriee A. Kennedy, Ann Bartow, F. Carolyn Graglia, Joan Macload Hemingway

Scholarly Works

This is an edited, annotated transcript of a conference panel discussion on feminism, sex, and gender in law, legal education, and legal scholarship. The transcript reflects widely divergent views of the place of feminism, sex, and gender in the law and legal scholarship. Moreover, the panelists differ as to the role feminism has played in the lives of women as law students and practicing attorneys. In the latter part of the transcript, the panelists' remarks focus in on hotly debated issues surrounding possible gender (or sex) and racial bias in LSAT testing and the innate abilities of women and men …

Two Ways To End A Marriage: Divorce Or Death, Laura A. Rosenbury

UF Law Faculty Publications

Default rules governing property distribution at divorce and death are often identified as one of the primary benefits of marriage. This Article examines these default rules in all fifty states, exposing the ways property distribution differs depending on whether the marriage ends by divorce or death. The result is often counter-intuitive: in most states, a spouse is likely to receive more property if her marriage ends by divorce than if the marriage lasts until "death do us part." This difference can be explained in part by the choices of feminist activists over the past thirty-five years: feminists played a large …

Law Is Not Enough, Berta E. Hernández-Truyol

UF Law Faculty Publications

In 1995, the United Nations reported “in no society today do women enjoy the same opportunities as men.” The condition and status of women worldwide was one of social, political, educational, legal, and economic inequality. Ten years later, women's economic disparities persist. In Gender Injustice: An International Comparative Analysis of Equality in Employment, Dr. Anne-Marie Mooney Cotter focuses on women's global inequality in employment. The book's in-depth examination of women's second-class, subordinated status in the workplace around the world provides invaluable insights into the complexities of gender inequality.

Judicial Deference Or Bad Law? Why Massachusetts Courts Will Not Impose Municipal Liability For Failure To Enforce Restraining Orders, Carolyn Grose

Faculty Scholarship

The authors take up the challenge that was thrown down by the Ford v. Town of Grafton court. The first part of this Article examines the somewhat tortured and fascinating history of the Massachusetts Tort Claims Act. It then describes the arguments Catherine Ford made, how the court responded, and why it responded as it did. In Part II, Massachusetts' strong commitment to protecting and assisting victims of domestic violence is examined. A variety of legislative, executive and judicial initiatives that demonstrate commitment are described, but the Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 209A, the restraining order statute, is emphasized. The article …

Dealing With Hate In The Feminist Classroom, Kathryn M. Stanchi

Scholarly Works

The goals of this essay are two-fold. First, by describing the experience I had in Law and Feminism, the essay will show how hateful and harassing speech in a seminar devoted to issues of gender, race and sexuality can rob students of important educational experiences. The story of my class is meant to remind legal educators and administrators of the concrete harm, both personal and educational, of hate speech. Too often the hate speech debate focuses on the theoretical and the abstract; participants forget that the principles at stake have demonstrable consequences for real people.

Second, while this essay does …

Discrimination In Our Midst: Law School's Potential Liability For Employment Practices, Ann C. Mcginley

Scholarly Works

Studies and articles examining tenured, tenure-track and contract faculty in law schools have exposed the inequalities that women face when compared with their male counterparts. This article asks the legal academic community to consider these conditions in light of established Title VII doctrine which forbids discrimination because of sex. This article offers a hypothetical about the fictitious National Law School, whose labor relationships mimic those of many real law schools in a number of ways. Based on the facts in this hypothetical, the article explores different possible causes of action, either systemic or individual, that employees could reasonably win against …

Book Review, Walking A Gantlet: Nielsen’S License To Harass, Lynne Henderson

Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Check Only One: M/F/Other, Julie Shapiro

Faculty Articles

In this extremely brief essay, the author questions Lawrence Summers' generalizations about women in science. We live in a world of uncertainty about the boundaries of gender. Transgendered and intersexed individuals challenge us to step away from strict categories of men and women.

The Lengthening Shadow Of Androcentrism, Bryan K. Fair

Cardozo Journal of Equal Rights & Social Justice

The article critiques Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers' hypotheses on the underrepresentation of women in high-end science and engineering jobs, arguing that his views are based on stereotypes and overlook historical and systemic factors. The author contests Summers' points, emphasizing that gender disparities stem from deeply entrenched male privilege and legal structures rather than women's choices or aptitude. The analysis highlights the role of historical discrimination and legal cases in perpetuating gender caste.