Trans Justice Fights Trans Moral Panic

Between the summer of 2019 and the summer of 2021, a violent discussion about trans rights took place in Spain. This paper argues that the discussion can be understood as an instance of ‘social problems work’, more specifically as part of a moral crusade or a moral panic episode. Implicit in this is the idea that there has been an over-reaction to trans recognition and trans equality laws, publicly presented as a major social problem. This paper also provides legal arguments against the fears voiced in the discussion, by summarizing relevant ECHR case-law that agrees with an alternative feminist account of trans rights that de-pathologizes gender-identity self-determination. The paper thus suggests that a ‘cultural war’ over gender identity has been ignited and has yet to be fully fought and won

La protección de los derechos sociales por el Tribunal Europeo de Derechos Humanos || The protection of Social Rights by the European Court of Human Rights

Resumen: El artículo contribuye al esfuerzo colectivo de mostrar que la tutela judicial de los derechos sociales es posible analizando la jurisprudencia reciente del  TEDH. Propone la reconstrucción de una teoría unitaria de los derechos y analiza dos de los obstáculos para consolidarla: la diferencia entre las obligaciones que establecen los derechos civiles y los sociales, y la tesis de la justiciabilidad débil. Para contrastarlos, por un lado, se identifican algunos caminos que el TEDH ha elaborado a través de una interpretación creativa del Pacto, y por otro, se descartan otros mecanismos de tutela a la luz de la jurisprudencia reciente.   Abstract: This work aims at contributing to the collective effort of demonstrating that protecting social rights is possible under the ECHR. Departing from a unitary theory of rights, it provides evidences about how the ECTHR has recognised the posibility of judicial adjudication of social rights either through new forms of litigation or a creative interpretation of the Convention. Finally, it evaluates the posibilities of protecting social rights through the general prohibition of discrimination by analysing recent case law of the ECTHR

Some like it hot

The first time I heard Javier de Lucas talk about foreigners and migration with the excuse of talking about Blade Runner (or vice versa), I thought one had to use a lot of imagination, but I could only say that to Mario Ruiz. His proposal worked very well, because Javier is an expert in cinema, migration and law, and he was capable of performing that magic. I am going to stay in a much more evident relationship exercise. I propose to clarify concepts and discuss cisheteronormativity with Billy Wilder's Some Like it Hot (1959)

LA CIUDADANÍA DE LAS MUJERES: EL ESPACIO DE LAS NECESIDADES A LA LUZ DEL DERECHO ANTIDISCRIMINATORIO Y LA PARTICIPACIÓN POLÍTICA

The actual “crisis of care” in western societies highlights the limits of a sex/gender based citizenship and the persistence of the subordination of women. The fact that women are responsible for the provision of care in domestic units has never been a matter of difference but a matter of subordination against which we have developed legal strategies, such as anti-discrimination law, and political strategies, such as increasing the presence of women in decision-making. The paper shows some of these strategies and their limits and argues that we need to resignify citizenship in a way that includes human dependency and the webs of relationships, both local and global, this dependency creates.La actual crisis de los cuidados en occidente ha puesto de manifiesto las limitaciones de la ciudadanía sexuada, y la persistencia del sistema de dominio que afecta a las mujeres. La asignación del espacio doméstico a las mujeres no ha sido nunca una cuestión de diferencia, sino una cuestión de subordinación frente a la que se alzan, de un lado, las estrategias relativas al derecho antidiscriminatorio; de otro, las demandas de participación política real de las mujeres y de su mayor presencia en los ámbitos políticos de representación. El trabajo presenta algunas de estas estrategias y argumentos; sus limitaciones y potenciales, y argumenta que necesitamos resignificar la ciudadanía incluyendo la dependencia humana y su gestión, así como las redes globales actuales que dicha gestión genera

The case-law of the ECtHR on human trafficking and the need to go back to the legal concepts of slavery, servitude and forced labour

Este repaso a la jurisprudencia del Tribunal Europeo de derechos humanos en materia de trata en los últimos quince años señala con preocupación el abandono de las categorías de esclavitud, servidumbre y trabajo forzado y la omnipresencia de la trata; una categoría que deja en situación de desamparo a buena parte de sus víctimas. El artículo se detiene en tres casos paradigmáticos: caso Siliadin v. Francia (2005); Rantsev v. Rusia y Chipre (2010); y S.M v. Croacia (2020). El análisis es crítico con el concepto de trata que utiliza el TEDH en su jurisprudencia e insiste en la necesidad de regresar al derecho internacional de los derechos humanos abandonando la categoría de trata y su uso perverso.The article proposes a review of the European Court of Human Rights case law regarding Trafficking in Human Beings in the last 15 years, and highlights with concern the shift from discourses on slavery, servitude and forced labor towards trafficking, a category that is unable to protect most of THB victims. The focus is briefly put on three main decisions: Siliadin v. France (2005); Rantsev v. Russia and Cyprus (2010); and S.M v. Croatia (2020). The analysis criticizes the concept of THB employed by the ECHR, and insists on the need of using long-established international human rights law categories, abandoning the wicked category of trafficking.Universidad Pablo de Olavid

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

"Female genital mutilation" in Europe : Public discourse versus empirical evidence

Media often report about circumcision of girls, or ‘female genital mutilation’ (FGM), in ways that present this practice as a burning social problem, albeit secretively performed among African immigrants in Europe. In this paper we discuss the construction of FGM as a widespread social problem in Europe. We contrast the public discourse on FGM with empirical data on FGM criminal court cases in Europe in order to see to what extent the public discourse agrees with evidence. We conclude that there is a discrepancy between public discourse and media representations, on one hand, and empirical evidence, on the other. We suggest that the scarcity of criminal court cases in Europe to a large extent can be explained by processes of cultural change after migration. Further, we emphasise the importance of access to context-specific knowledge during court proceedings in FGM cases

Female genital mutilation in Europe : An analysis of court cases

This report was prepared for the European Commission. The terminology used is theirs. This study develops a comparative overview of recent FGM (Female Genital Mutilation) court cases within the EU, as well as an exploratory survey of transnational movement in relation to FGM. The legal aspects of 20 recent criminal court cases in Europe are analysed, and evidence about transnational movement to have FGM performed is assessed. The report is based on data collected by country experts in eleven European countries. Data include court decisions, migration background of groups from FGM-practising countries in the host countries, the process of FGM-reporting, and stakeholders’ proposals and opinions regarding FGM. The report addresses the general legal context or framework to fight FGM in the eleven countries, and it briefly analyses the impact that the embracing of the due diligence standard could have, as a consequence of the signature of the Istanbul Convention by all the countries in the report. A finding of our study is the fact that the responses given by different countries to FGM are modelled by disparities of public prosecution systems in Europe. Calling upon state parties to apply the Istanbul Convention and accordingly modify existing provisions that limit their jurisdiction over FGM cases (art. 44) could have an impact on such procedural disparities, although further research is needed in this area. The review of existing court cases shows the legal concepts of ‘error of prohibition’ and ‘neglect of care’ as novel approaches for both prosecution and prevention of FGM in Europe. As a consequence, the report points out that these aspects (due diligence, neglect of care, and error of prohibition) ought to be further explored in future discussions, not primarily for their potential to result in more criminal court cases of conviction, but because of their potential power as preventive tools. In the analysis of collected data, we distinguish between ‘typical’ and ‘atypical’ cases, provide examples of those categories, and discuss what the criminal court cases tell us about the geography of illegal FGM activities among migrants in European countries. A strong tendency in the data is that rumours about a transnational movement to have FGM carried out state that girls are brought to their countries of origin to undergo FGM. This situation is reflected in court cases: although FGM has been carried out in France, Italy, Switzerland, and possibly in Spain, a majority of criminal court cases regard FGM performed in African countries. As for the process of reporting suspicious, pending, or performed FGM cases, most countries establish for professionals a duty to report. However, there are conflicting interpretations of such duties between legal operators and lay people, provoking practical difficulties and ethical dilemmas. Country experts collected possible reasons for the scarcity of reported suspected cases within the EU. Amongst the reasons stated by stakeholders in the different countries, the two more important were lack of first-hand information and fear of disproportional measures (such as parents under arrest and institutionalisation of children). Children at risk of FGM are not in abusive environments, but the system responds as if that were the case. As for the policy suggested, the report briefly discusses the legal and ethical implications of some of the stakeholders’ suggestions. For instance, a valuable suggestion is the idea of creating incentives to report by offering better service provisions for affected women and girls. This suggestion tries to counterbalance the idea many professionals have that reporting will only make things worse for the affected family, as special services and provisions are not in place. Access to services or rights would not rely on the willingness of victims themselves to cooperate or report but on the establishment of a system of services that professionals can use when re- porting such cases. A stronger emphasis in awareness-raising campaigns among professionals and communities, on medical and social support for affected girls and women would possibly strengthen as well the incentive to report. The report identifies several areas where further research is needed. One such area is processes of social and cultural change as regards views and practice of FGM among immigrants from FGM-practising countries. A future key question is how legislation, policies, and preventive efforts can speed up the processes of abandonment of FGM among immigrant communities in Europe

Docetaxel for nonmetastatic prostate cancer: Long-term survival outcomes in the STAMPEDE randomized controlled trial

© 2022 The Authors. Published by OUP. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1093/jncics/pkac043Background STAMPEDE previously reported adding upfront docetaxel improved overall survival for prostate cancer patients starting long-term androgen deprivation therapy. We report long-term results for non-metastatic patients using, as primary outcome, metastatic progression-free survival (mPFS), an externally demonstrated surrogate for overall survival. Methods Standard of care (SOC) was androgen deprivation therapy with or without radical prostate radiotherapy. A total of 460 SOC and 230 SOC plus docetaxel were randomly assigned 2:1. Standard survival methods and intention to treat were used. Treatment effect estimates were summarized from adjusted Cox regression models, switching to restricted mean survival time if non-proportional hazards. mPFS (new metastases, skeletal-related events, or prostate cancer death) had 70% power (α = 0.05) for a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.70. Secondary outcome measures included overall survival, failure-free survival (FFS), and progression-free survival (PFS: mPFS, locoregional progression). Results Median follow-up was 6.5 years with 142 mPFS events on SOC (3 year and 54% increases over previous report). There was no good evidence of an advantage to SOC plus docetaxel on mPFS (HR = 0.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.66 to 1.19; P = .43); with 5-year mPFS 82% (95% CI = 78% to 87%) SOC plus docetaxel vs 77% (95% CI = 73% to 81%) SOC. Secondary outcomes showed evidence SOC plus docetaxel improved FFS (HR = 0.70, 95% CI = 0.55 to 0.88; P = .002) and PFS (nonproportional P = .03, restricted mean survival time difference = 5.8 months, 95% CI = 0.5 to 11.2; P = .03) but no good evidence of overall survival benefit (125 SOC deaths; HR = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.64 to 1.21; P = .44). There was no evidence SOC plus docetaxel increased late toxicity: post 1 year, 29% SOC and 30% SOC plus docetaxel grade 3-5 toxicity. Conclusions There is robust evidence that SOC plus docetaxel improved FFS and PFS (previously shown to increase quality-adjusted life-years), without excess late toxicity, which did not translate into benefit for longer-term outcomes. This may influence patient management in individual cases.This work was supported by Cancer Research UK (grant number CRUK_A12459); Medical Research Council (grant number MRC_MC_UU_12023/25, grant number MC_UU_00004/01); Sanofi; Astellas; Clovis; Janssen; Novartis; Pfizer. NDJ, CCP, and DPD were supported by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre at The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and the Institute of Cancer Research, London.Published versio