By Natalia Urzola Gutiérrez
Girls’ rights to personal autonomy and self-determination are crucial to advancing gender justice. Only by assuring that girls can make their own choices is it possible to achieve gender equality. Understanding the root sources of inequalities around the world will allow policymakers and legislators to address structural inequities and focus their efforts on legal reforms that truly overcome gender stereotypes. IANGEL has embarked on a research project that aims at achieving just that.
The importance of Pro Bono work
Pro Bono work is pivotal in advancing this type of project. It promotes public interest in the pursuit of justice, while allowing lawyers to follow their passion and serve the community. Since 2019, IANGEL has been working on the Girls’ Rights Project (GRP) in tandem with Berkeley Law’s Pro Bono Program. Berkeley Law puts great emphasis on fostering a pro bono culture, allowing students to engage in pro bono work as early as their first semester of law school. Berkeley Law offers pro bono projects specifically dedicated to LL.M students, which is where IANGEL’s GRP enters. The experiences and knowledge of Berkeley Law’s international students provide a global and intersectional lens to the GRP.
The project
IANGEL’s GRP is a research project that is collecting data from countries in three regions of the world (Latin America, Asia, and Africa) on three subjects: sexual and reproductive rights, female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), and child marriage.
The project looks at the legal frameworks in fifteen countries (five in each region). For each researched country, students prepare a report answering questions concerning the existing domestic legal framework, how it interplays with international treaties and obligations, and what possible legal reforms could be advanced to support girls’ rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination. As of today, nine reports have been completed and the remaining six are in the early stages of research. The project also focuses on identifying root causes of gender inequalities in each country to better understand the localities’ unique circumstances and provide context-based approaches to legal reforms.
Given Covid-19’s impact on human rights worldwide, the project has been expanded to analyze how the pandemic has affected girls’ rights. We are now studying government response measures that limit or restrict access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services as well as recent increases in child marriage due to economic hardships. The project will address how Covid-19 has impacted these issues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
Initial findings and the way forward
So far, the reports’ findings show existing restrictions to accessing abortion and other reproductive health services in many countries, most of which stem from patriarchal and biased cultural norms. Social stigma against premarital sex and abortion is prevalent in most of the countries analyzed, in tandem with weak and precarious health systems. Despite general acknowledgement of the need to prevent child marriage, legal systems around the world still allow marriage with adolescents under 18 years old. As for FGM/C, some countries have more information on reported cases and practices, which has led to legal reforms that have ultimately banned this practice (for example, in Africa). However, more work still needs to be done. Some countries still need to gather information on whether FGM/C is being practiced within their borders (for example, countries in Latin America have little to no information regarding this practice).
It is hence necessary to push for legal and social reforms that tackle these issues in a way that advance efforts to eradicate gender inequality. Advancing girls’ legal rights to bodily autonomy and self-determination poses an immense challenge, as well as an opportunity to move toward eliminating gender-based violence and discrimination. Furthermore, a deep understanding of cultural and social norms will allow a better approach to any legal reform while addressing structural causes.
The final goal is to develop a set of recommendations for legal reforms at both the national and regional level, to advance girls’ rights through pro bono advocacy. Partnering with other organizations that are currently working towards gender equality in the identified regions to jointly advocate for legal and policy reforms will provide an understanding of what is already being done regionally, as well as the particular knowledge of how local legal systems work.
IANGEL’s work is crucial to the protection of girls’ rights throughout the world. Projects such as the GRP can have a significant impact and further support the work of human rights organizations worldwide. This project will provide relevant data to inform legal reform proposals while strengthening pro bono advocacy. Gender equality is a collaborative effort that requires multiple parties to come together to fight the systems of oppression. The GRP is envisioned as a steppingstone, providing a path for girls’ rights advocates towards a world free from gender-based discrimination.