Women in the Aftermath of the 2010 Haitian Earthquake

This Article examines women’s and girls’ struggles in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. In particular, it focuses on the grievous conditions in the displacement camps that foster gender-based violence and abuse, often perpetrated by members of armed groups or prison escapees. Indeed, the lack of lighting, private sanitary facilities, secure shelters, and police patrols in the encampment areas endanger women’s and girls’ safety. The devastation and traumatic loss of family and community members following the earthquake further affect women’s resilience and increase their vulnerability to abuse and sexual violence. By examining the conditions and risks faced by women and girls in the displacement camps, this Article aims to identify preventive measures and effective responses that international law and humanitarian aid should adopt to protect displaced women and girls and address gender-based violence. Part I depicts the devastation caused by the 2010 Haitian earthquake as well as the international aid and relief efforts deployed by foreign states and international organizations. Part II presents accounts of women and girls living in the displacement camps who have been victims of sexual violence. This Part documents some of their stories and reports their daily struggles. Part III examines both the international and domestic legal framework to protect women and girls from violence in post-disaster settings. Finally, Part IV suggests practical measures that should be implemented to provide adequate services, protection, and judicial redress to rape victims in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake

#MeToo and the Pursuit of Women\u27s International Human Rights

IN THE PAST YEAR, high profile cases and the ensuing #MeToo movement have raised much attention on issues surrounding gender discrimination, violence against women, and sexual harassment in the workplace. In the United States, allegations of sexual assault and harassment spawned the deposition or resignation of prominent figures in the entertainment, media, dining, and business industries following the onset of the #MeToo social media movement.\u27 In the rest of the world, many people also embraced the online crusade by sharing the hashtag millions of times or creating their own versions of it. Feminists and scholars have since attempted to keep pace with the sequence of incidents, grasp the reasoning for the present occurrence of such a reckoning with issues surrounding gender-based violence at this point in time, and envisage more inclusive processes for all women. Contrary to the widespread discussion that mostly focuses on domestic issues, this Article offers an international perspective on the challenges raised by #MeToo by surveying a sample of countries that resonated the most with the movement-Britain, India, and Sweden- and other countries that experienced a more conflicted reaction- Japan, France, and Italy. This Article proceeds in three parts. Part I recaps some of the main incidents that triggered the #MeToo social media campaign in the United States. The discussion focuses on the global impact of the movement by surveying the countries mentioned above that have been most receptive and the others that showed a more reticent reaction. Part II explores why #MeToo blew up only recently at the domestic level, and what factors contributed to its international development. Finally, Part III recommends a holistic human rights-based approach to sexual assault and harassment to ensure that the #MeToo\u27s impetus will not fade without having first attained long-lasting change for all women

Childhood Obesity and Positive Obligations: A Child Rights-Based Approach

Childhood obesity is one of the most serious current public health challenges. Its prevalence has increased at an alarming rate. The World Health Organization estimated that in 2016 the global number of overweight children under the age of five was over 41 million. Although there is widespread concern about the rising rates of childhood obesity, there is not as much consensus on how to address the problem. Obesity has been mostly considered either a matter of personal responsibility or of parental responsibility when it concerns children. Inadequate attention has been given instead to the obligations borne by States to prevent and combat child obesity under international human rights law. This Article seeks to remedy such gap in the current research by discussing a comprehensive child rights-based approach that imposes positive obligations on States to prevent childhood obesity through the realization of children\u27s rights to adequate food, health, and participation. This Article begins by exploring the causes of childhood obesity focusing on the multiple factors that influence weight, food preferences, and eating patterns in children. The Article proceeds by examining the international human rights law framework for States\u27 positive obligations to fight obesity among children. It also discusses the child obesity-specific recommendations issued by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Health, and finally, the Special Rapporteur in the Field of Cultural Rights who have further clarified the States\u27 central role and responsibilities in the development and implementation of effective measures and strategies for child obesity prevention. The Article concludes that the right of children to participate in the decision-making processes related to their nutrition and health in accordance to the principles of the Convention of the Rights of the Child must also be at the core of governments\u27 obligations to ensure the full realization of children\u27s rights to adequate food and to health and the adoption of more effective solutions

Book Review: Carol Haber, The Trials of Laura Fair: Sex, Murder, and Insanity in the Victorian West

During the nineteenth century, the inquisitorial justice system, in which the investigation was typically overseen by a prosecutor or an examining magistrate, and the conduct of the trial was largely in the hands of the court, was replaced by the adversarial justice system. In the adversarial model, both the prosecutor and the defense were responsible for gathering evidence and presenting a narrative of the crime during the trial. Therefore, the courtroom became a sentimental theater in which opposing counsels recreated for the jury the story of the defendant and the events leading to the crime. The trial, therefore, represented the exclusive forum for seeking out and determining the truth

Women and Poisons in 17th Century France

During the late 1660s and the early 1670s, several mysterious deaths of influential members of the French nobility followed one after the other, leading to a scandal, better known as the Affair of the Poisons, which involved prominent individuals at the royal court of Louis XIV in France. The King, who was concerned that the widespread use of the practice of poisoning could endanger his own safety and that of the royal family, appointed Nicolas de La Reynie, the Lieutenant General of the Paris Police, to oversee the investigation. In 1679, he also established a special tribunal, known as the Chambre Ardente, to prosecute the murders. The court ruled for over three years, issuing 319 subpoenas, arresting 194 individuals, and sentencing 36 of them to death. This article examines the involvement of three women who were prominently implicated in the scandal: the Marquise de Brinvilliers, whose trial rocked the royal court of Louis XIV and whose decapitation engaged the public imagination; the sorceress Catherine La Voisin, who was prosecuted and burned alive for providing important members of the royal court with magic powders and venomous potions; and finally, the Marquise de Montespan, one of the favorite mistresses of Louis XIV, who allegedly purchased love powders from La Voisin and participated in black masses, but whose direct involvement in the scandal was never conclusively determined by the Chambre Ardente

Women and Poisons in 17th Century France

During the late 1660s and the early 1670s, several mysterious deaths of influential members of the French nobility followed one after the other, leading to a scandal, better known as the Affair of the Poisons, which involved prominent individuals at the royal court of Louis XIV in France. The King, who was concerned that the widespread use of the practice of poisoning could endanger his own safety and that of the royal family, appointed Nicolas de La Reynie, the Lieutenant General of the Paris Police, to oversee the investigation. In 1679, he also established a special tribunal, known as the Chambre Ardente, to prosecute the murders. The court ruled for over three years, issuing 319 subpoenas, arresting 194 individuals, and sentencing 36 of them to death. This article examines the involvement of three women who were prominently implicated in the scandal: the Marquise de Brinvilliers, whose trial rocked the royal court of Louis XIV and whose decapitation engaged the public imagination; the sorceress Catherine La Voisin, who was prosecuted and burned alive for providing important members of the royal court with magic powders and venomous potions; and finally, the Marquise de Montespan, one of the favorite mistresses of Louis XIV, who allegedly purchased love powders from La Voisin and participated in black masses, but whose direct involvement in the scandal was never conclusively determined by the Chambre Ardente

The Double Weakness of Girls: Discrimination and Sexual Violence in Haiti

This Note is about poverty, inequality, and sexual violence. Using empirical research, it explores cultural beliefs, practices of abuse, and criminal justice responses to the widespread and systematic rape affecting girls in the shantytowns of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Dominated by the vestiges of the French colonization and plagued by destitution and political instability, Haiti faces rampant violence and disarray leaving the majority of its population in unbearable conditions of despair. Often regarded as a pariah state by the international community and erratically supported or invaded by foreign players, Haiti remains a forgotten country despoiled by human rights violations, decadence, and turmoil

What Have Women Got To Do With Peace?: A Gender Analysis of the Laws of War and Peacemaking

This article proposes an engaged analysis of the impact that armed conflicts have on women and the diverse roles that women might conceivably play in peacemaking. Recalling the original theories of international law, the article recounts how historical chronicles and modern Western authors have depicted women in wartime. Primarily portrayed as victims of brutalization and sexual violence, women have been confined to the private realm and, thus, excluded from the decision-making processes of war and peace. This research argues that the same exclusion has been reflected in the international law instruments that have reinforced the paradigm of women as mainstays of family honor, rather than as holders of personal rights. Depicted as mere victims in need of protection, like children, women have been deprived of any agency for peace. This article identifies the turning point of the indictments issued by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda acknowledging rape and sexual violence against women in wartime as human rights violations. As a consequence of their new status as right holders under United Nations Resolution 1325, women have finally been accorded the important role of agents in the prevention and resolution of conflicts as well as in the promotion and maintenance of an enduring peace. Nevertheless, despite the exemplary endeavors of women for peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which ultimately led to the creation of the regional women\u27s peace movement Mano River Union Women Peace Network, this article contends that women remain secluded from the decision-making tables in war and in peace. Although they have managed to attain consideration from their own governments and the international community, women\u27s demands have remained largely neglected at negotiation tables and in peace agreements. This same analysis offers insights into the lessons drawn from historic women\u27s struggles, thus honoring the ultimate quest for true change and an enduring peace in the global community

From Violence Against Women to Women\u27s Violence in Haiti

Much of the current scholarship, as well as international policy studies focusing on civil conflicts and armed violence, has primarily construed women as victims and men as perpetrators of violence. Although this prevalent interpretation certainly reflects conventional wisdom and tells part of a true war story, the remainder, which has been very much less publicized and addressed, also perceives women as participants in violence and men occasionally as victims. This Article joins the chorus of scholars that have only recently begun to highlight the flaws of this common belief and conversely, describe female participation in conflict and armed violence, often in order to discover a convincing explanation for why women engage in violence. This Article goes even further in seeking to deepen the understanding of why women and girls, living in the slum communities of Haiti, participate in violence, by looking at the specific nexus between their prior victimization through sexual abuse and their ensuing decision to join the armed factions. To be sure, pertinent studies focusing either on violence against women and women\u27s violence, or their reciprocal influences and correlations have already been conducted in several countries tom apart by civil conflict or armed violence. To date, however, this issue has not yet been explored in Haiti, where available data has nonetheless suggested a high prevalence of sexual violence against girls and women as well as their involvement in armed violence. In particular, this study aims to shed light on female internalization of gender stereotypes and experience with violence, which produces common patterns of retaliation. It investigates the incentives, conditions and decision-making processes that motivate victims of rape and sexual abuse to join armed groups and to become active affiliates and perpetrators of violence themselves. Ultimately, by investigating the current international legal norms and Haitian legislation on both female victimization and aggression, this analysis aims to contribute to the design of effective measures to free women from violence, to dispel their anger and resentment towards forms of community reconciliation, and to adequately reintegrate them into society

Must Judges Follow Children’s Wishes Over Their Custody?

Across countries and jurisdictions, allowing children to voice their preferences in family disputes is beneficial for all parties involved. Judges find it useful to complement and corroborate facts and information of a case, parents learn how their children are coping with the current situation, and, finally, children end up being more satisfied with the process and adjusting better to the outcome. Giving children a say over their custody empowers them, fosters their sense of control, and contributes to their best interest. Those who are not invited to express their views, instead, become disappointed, frustrated and resentful