The City Law School hosted the hybrid conference, “A Feminist Approach to Litigation and Legal Advocacy Internationally”, organised by the IFLN.
By Verónica Muñoz Martínez, Press Office Gradvantage Intern
On Wednesday 17 July, The City Law School and Centre for Women’s Justice hosted the hybrid conference, “A Feminist Approach to Litigation and Legal Advocacy Internationally.” It was organised by the International Feminist Legal Network (IFLN).
The event was delivered and joined by feminist legal experts from around the globe, including from Georgia, Italy, New Zealand, the Philippines, Russia, South Africa, the US and UK.
Discussion covered crucial topics such as domestic homicide, femicide, the criminalisation of survivors, sex trafficking, the silencing of women who speak out about abuse and violence against women framed as torture.
“The criminal records of women who were trafficked, and convicted for it, can last 100 years. Their whole life,” said Karon Monaghan, Trustee at the Centre for Women’s Justice, and a lawyer with expertise in equality law and human trafficking.
She shared a client story of a woman who had received multiple criminal records arising from being trafficked in street prostitution. As a consequence, she was unable to accompany her children on a school trip.
Monaghan highlighted the importance of addressing and challenging legal issues like these and improving domestic law as “women are disproportionally convicted” in the cases.
Jennifer Long, CEO of AEquitas, said, “the more we push for education for judges and lawyers, the better these cases are handled”. AEquitas is a nonprofit organisation campaigning for improvement in the quality of justice for cases of sexual violence, intimate partner violence, stalking, and human trafficking.
Long said that it is important to “understand how the perpetrators act” because this helps apply the law, and that “there are many uninvestigated cases because people didn’t believe the victims. Sometimes they try to blame them for their suffering.”
The long process of domestic violence cases was discussed at the conference too.
“Duration is what kills women in the process. They are tired. It could take up to three years,” said Valentina Frolova, a Russian attorney with a focus on women’s rights. “The longer he pushes the case, the longer she is silenced.”
“Some women can’t even speak,” said Cristina Sevilla, a human rights lawyer from The Philippines, and IFLN Advisory Group member.
She shared how violence against women in Asia is higher than in other regions of the world, reported on the legal frameworks on gender-based torture across different Asian countries and intersectionality with other categories of identity within communities, adding, “when we talk about gender it is important to talk about intersectionality”.
To help change this, she referred to The United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) and advocated for women’s organisations and governments to integrate this framework.
UNCAT is an international human rights treaty aimed at preventing torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.
Sevilla said:
More women lawyers participated in the event by asking questions of the speakers and discussing the legal frameworks covered.
The event concluded with Harriet Wistrich, Director Centre for Women’s Justice and IFLN Advisory Group member, stressing the value in sharing litigation strategies and perspectives across the globe and exploring creative approaches to using international legal instruments to enhance legal advocacy and litigation.
Dr Cassandra Wiener, Reader in Law at The City Law School, co-hosted the event, and said: