Year: 2005
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Echoing the ambivalent relationship feminism has historically had with law, feminists working within the violence against women movement within England and Wales have shown little enthusiasm for a statutory Bill of Rights.Neither the European Convention on Human Rights nor the Human Rights Act 1998 has been the focus of feminist research or activism in this area.Indeed, the social sciences as a whole have been slow to engage with international human rights law and theorise any impact on law and policy.This thesis develops an analytical and conceptual framework in which to investigate the use, outcomes and policy impact of human rights arguments made by rape victims and defendants under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Human Rights Act 1998.Documentary analysis of 31 law reports using this framework showed that rape defendants used human rights more often than rape victims did, but that rape victims were more likely to win their case.It is concluded that the European Convention on Human Rights has contributed to the development of some new pan-European standards in rape cases, despite the fact that few cases were taken by rape victims.There is a good understanding at the European Court of the impact rape has on its victims and also of the difficulties that exist in proving rape.Some suggestions for the future are offered, including the need for: clarity of procedures and funding for third party interventions; equal representation in the judiciary; feminists to think 'horizontally'; knowledge from and joint working with human rights experts.The time and space that human rights provide can provide an ideal opportunity to challenge existing criminal justice discourses around rape, victims and defendants.
Author: Marie Nicole Westmarland
Language: English
Subfield: Gender Studies
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2299577610