The Center for Gender and Sexuality Law organizes and co-sponsors a number of events every academic year. Our events comprise lectures and panels from leading advocates in gender and sexuality law; engage thought leaders in movement and social justice work, and are co-supported with student organizations to provide a diversity of programs that enrich student, faculty, and staff experiences on campus. We value the insight that interdisciplinary study and discourse provides to our work, and we frequently partner with faculty and institutes from a diversity of departments across the University.
All of our events are free and open to the public unless explicitly stated. If you would like to propose an event or a program or invite co-support from the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law for a program, contact the Assistant Director for the Center, Lilia Hadjiivanova, at +1 (212) 854-0167 or by e-mail to [email protected].
Past and upcoming events are listed below. We also encourage you to follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Eventbrite, and to join our Mailing List to receive information about our upcoming events and programs. Where possible, recordings of events are uploaded to our YouTube channel.
Upcoming Events
Front Lines of Gender Justice - Spring 2023
This spring semester, join Professor Katherine Franke's Gender Justice class at Columbia Law School.
Every week, between March 21st and April 25th, Professor Franke will have a guest speaker joining the class and will open it to the public. Speakers include lawyers and activists doing gender justice work on the ground.
Gender Justice classes take place on Tuesdays 4:20 - 6:10pm ET.
You may join either in person or via Zoom.
To receive the Zoom link, register at: tinyurl.com/GenderJusticeSeries2023
Schedule & Speakers
On March 21st, Professor Franke will be joined by Joyce McMillan, Executive Director of JMACforFamilies, to discuss abolishing the "child welfare" system, ending poverty, and holistically supporting families of color.
Joyce McMillan is a thought leader, advocate, activist, community organizer, educator, and the Founder and Executive Director of JMACforFamilies (Just Making a Change). Her mission is to remove systemic barriers in communities of color by bringing awareness to the racial disparities in systems where people of color are disproportionately affected. Joyce believes the conversation about systemic oppression must happen on all levels consistently before meaningful change can occur. Joyce’s ultimate goal is to abolish systems of harm – especially the family policing/regulation/destruction system (also known as the child welfare system) – while creating concrete community resources.
Joyce has previously led child welfare family engagement and advocacy efforts at Sinergia Inc, an organization that works with and to support people with disabilities and their families. Prior to Sinergia, she was the Program Director at the Child Welfare Organizing Project (CWOP), where she created a community space to educate the community about restorative practices to empower, affirm, transform, and heal communities of color that have been traumatized by systemic injustices.
Joyce currently serves on the board of the Women’s Prison Association and has been the co-chair of the W134th Community Association. She’s also been a NYC County Committee Member and a Supreme Court Judicial Delegate. Joyce is on the Advisory Committee for the Center for New York City Affairs (CNYCA) at The New School, where she also holds a visiting fellowship.
On March 28th, Professor Franke will be joined by Ria Tabacco Mar, Director, ACLU Women’s Rights Project, to discuss the front lines of gender justice across the U.S.
Ria Tabacco Mar (@RiaTabaccoMar) is the Director of the ACLU’s Women’s Rights Project, where she oversees the ACLU’s women’s rights litigation.
Previously, she was a senior staff attorney with the ACLU’s Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender & HIV Project, where she fought gender stereotypes, sex segregation, and attempts to use religion to discriminate in schools, at work, and in public places. Ria was part of the ACLU’s litigation team representing Aimee Stephens and Don Zarda, whose cases were decided as part of the recent Supreme Court ruling recognizing that federal employment law protections apply to LGBTQ people. She also led the ACLU’s team in Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, the case in which a same-sex couple was refused a wedding cake because they are gay.
Ria has been recognized on The Root 100 annual list of the most influential African Americans ages 25 to 45 and as one of the Best LGBT Lawyers Under 40 by the National LGBT Bar Association.
Prior to joining the ACLU, Ria served as Assistant Counsel at the NAACP Legal Defense & Educational Fund, an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP, and as a judicial law clerk to Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and to Judge Victor Marrero of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Ria graduated from New York University School of Law and Harvard College.
On April 4th, Professor Franke will be joined by Dana Sussman, Acting Executive Director, Pregnancy Justice, to discuss the increasing criminalization of pregnancy.
Dana (she/her/hers) joined Pregnancy Justice in 2021 as Deputy Executive Director and is currently serving as Acting Executive Director. Dana previously served as Deputy Commissioner of Policy and Intergovernmental Affairs at the NYC Commission on Human Rights and as a Senior Staff Attorney with Safe Horizon's Anti-Trafficking Program. Dana was formerly an Associate at Outten & Golden LLP, representing employees in wage and hour cases and gender, pregnancy, disability, and LGBTQ+ discrimination matters. After graduating from Northeastern University School of Law, Dana served as a Legal Fellow at the Center for Reproductive Rights and clerked for federal Magistrate Judge James Orenstein in the Eastern District of New York. Dana also holds a B.A. and an M.P.H. from Tufts University.
On April 11th, Professor Franke will be joined by Professor Dorothy Roberts, author of Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families--and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World.
Dorothy Roberts is the 14th Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor, the George A. Weiss University Professor of Law & Sociology, and the Raymond Pace & Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights at University of Pennsylvania. An internationally acclaimed scholar, activist, and social critic, she has written and lectured extensively on the interplay of gender, race, and class in legal issues concerning reproduction, bioethics, and child welfare. Her latest book, TORN APART: is about how the child welfare system destroys black families—and how abolition can build a safer world.
Dorothy is also the author of Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-create Race in the Twenty-First Century, which documents the rise of a new racial politics that relies on re-inventing the political system of race as a biological category written in our genes and obscures deepening racial inequities in a supposedly post-racial society.
Killing the Black Body: Race, Reproduction, and the Meaning of Liberty (Pantheon, 1997), which received a 1998 Myers Center Award for the Study of Human Rights in North America, and Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare (Basic Books, 2002), which received research awards from the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. She is also the co-editor of Sex, Power and Taboo: Gender and HIV in the Caribbean and Beyond, as well as of casebooks on gender and constitutional law and has published more than 100 articles and essays in books and scholarly journals, including Harvard Law Review, Yale Law Journal, Stanford Law Review, and Signs.
Dorothy has been the Kirkland & Ellis Professor at Northwestern University School of Law and a faculty fellow at the Institute for Policy Research. A visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, and Fordham and a fellow at Harvard University's Program in Ethics and the Professions, Stanford's Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, and the Fulbright Program. She serves as the chair of the board of directors of the Black Women's Health Imperative and a member of the board of the National Coalition for Child Protection Reform, as well as on a panel of five national experts that is overseeing foster care reform in Washington State and on the Standards Working Group of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.
On April 18th, Professor Franke will be joined by David Hansell, Senior Advisor for Child Welfare Policy, Casey Family Program, to discuss his path from HIV advocacy to promoting safe families.
David Hansell is Senior Advisor for Child Welfare Policy at the Casey Family Programs. He is former Commissioner of NYC/ACS and NYS/OTDA and former Acting Assistant Secretary of HHS/ACF.
Hansell has a long and distinguished career in federal, state, and local government as an advocate, administrator, and public policy expert. He has devoted his career in public service to promoting and supporting programs to improve the economic and social well-being of individuals, children, and families. His work has focused on early childhood development, child welfare, income support, workforce engagement, and economic opportunity.
On April 25th Professor Franke will be joined by Galen Sherwin, Special Counsel for Reproductive Justice, New York State Office of the Attorney General, to discuss the front lines of reproductive justice.
Galen Sherwin is currently special counsel for reproductive justice at the office of the New York State Attorney General. Previously, she was Senior Staff Attorney at the Women’s Rights Project of the ACLU, which was founded by Ruth Bader Ginsburg in 1972. At the ACLU, she focused on gender equality in education, and litigated and conducted advocacy around issues related to sex stereotypes, single-sex education, the rights of pregnant and parenting students, and athletics. She also focused on pregnancy discrimination and the rights of breastfeeding women in employment.
Sherwin began her career as a legislative aide to a New York State Senator, and then served as President of the New York City Chapter of the National Organization for Women and served on the NOW national board of directors. During law school, she worked at Sanctuary for Families/Center for Battered Women’s Legal Services and at the Center for Reproductive Rights. Upon law school graduation, Sherwin clerked for the Honorable Gerard E. Lynch, who was then in the Southern District of New York, and then joined the Center for Reproductive Rights as a Blackmun Fellow, where she focused on protecting minors’ rights to reproductive health care and abortion. She went on to join the New York Civil Liberties Union as a Staff Attorney in the Reproductive Rights Project, where she later became the project Director. She joined the ACLU Women’s Rights Project in 2009.
Past Events
Frontlines of Gender Justice Spring 2021 Speaker Series
Mondays, 4:30 - 6pm EDT
Join via Zoom here: tinyurl.com/genderjustice2021 (Password: 423183)
The course syllabus and related readings will be published on our Courses and Curriculum page.
January 25, 2020: Lisa Sangoi (Movement for Family Power) and Ericka Brewington, Drug Testing of Pregnant People and Newborns
Watch a recording of the event here.
Lisa Sangoi is a co-founder and co-director of Movement for Family Power, an organization that supports organizing and movement building to fight the policing and punishment of families through the foster system.
Ericka Brewington is an advocate and activist to abolish areas of the child welfare system. She was born and raised in Harlem and is a Mother to four beautiful children. She has worked as an administrative assistant for several large legal firms or organizations and she is also trained as a home care aide
February 1st: Khiara M. Bridges (UC Berkeley Law), Racial Disparities in Maternal Mortality
Watch a recording of the event here.
Khiara M. Bridges is a professor of law at UC Berkeley School of Law. She has written many articles concerning race, class, reproductive rights, and the intersection of the three. She is the author of three books: Reproducing Race: An Ethnography of Pregnancy as a Site of Racialization (2011), The Poverty of Privacy Rights (2017), and Critical Race Theory: A Primer (2019). She is a co-editor of a reproductive justice book series that is published under the imprint of the University of California Press.
February 8th: Julie Suk (CUNY Graduate Center), Equal Rights Amendment
Watch a recording of the event here.
Julie C. Suk is a leading scholar of constitutional gender equality in the United States and around the world. Her recent book, We the Women: The Unstoppable Mothers of the Equal Rights Amendment, charts the legal, historical, and political significance of the ERA's current resurgence, enabled by generations of women constitution-makers. In addition to her appointment at The Graduate Center, Professor Suk teaches as a Florence Rogatz Visiting Professor of Law at Yale Law School, and has previously taught at the law schools of Cardozo, Columbia, Harvard, UCLA, and University of Chicago Law Schools.
February 15th: Farah Diaz-Tello (If/When/How), Reproductive Justice
Watch a recording of the event here.
Farah Diaz-Tello, J.D., is Associate Legal & Policy Director for If/When/How, where she helps develop and execute litigation strategy, contributes legal analysis and drafting expertise to assist state and grassroots partners in reaching their policy goals, and provides legal information and training to reproductive rights, health, and justice activists. Farah continues and expands the work she began in 2016 at the SIA Legal Team, which joined forces with If/When/How in 2019. Prior to the SIA Legal Team, Farah worked at National Advocates for Pregnant Women, where she established and helmed programs in human rights and birth justice. Her publications for scholarly and popular press address criminalization of pregnancy outcomes, economic coercion in childbirth, obstetric violence, and reproductive issues in pop culture.
February 22nd: Clement Lee (Sex Workers Project), Justice for Sex Workers
Watch a recording of the event here.
Clement Lee is the Associate Director, Immigration Legal Services at the Sex Workers Project at the Urban Justice Center, and as part of SWP’s legal team, he provides legal services to immigrant communities impacted by sex work. In his work, Clement advocates for the rights of LGBT communities who have been persecuted on account of their sexual orientation or gender identity, or who have been trafficked, and other individuals whose undocumented status has pushed them to the fringes of the formal economy.
COVID-19 and the Human Rights of LGBTI People
Tuesday, May 19, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
As governments respond to the novel coronavirus, the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex (LGBTI) people are under increasing threat. Some face increased risks from stay-at-home orders when home is not a safe environment or when health care discrimination deters LGBTI people from seeking COVID-19 treatment. Discriminatory measures that stigmatize and blame LGBTI people for outbreaks as well as governments’ crackdown on LGBTI rights defenders, heighten vulnerabilities and violence. Instead, solutions must be found that center the rights of LGBTI people, including through economic measures to mitigate the adverse impacts of the crisis, as well as ongoing support services. Join us for a talk with Ymania Brown (ILGA World/PHRI), Gloria Careaga (UNAM), Victor Madrigal-Borloz (U.N. Independent Expert), and Danilo da Silva (LAMBDA); moderated by Larry Helfer (Duke Law).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Rethinking Essential: Business, Work, and Human Rights in the Covid-19 Pandemic
Thursday, May 14, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
As society grapples with an unprecedented pandemic, the most vulnerable workers and communities bear the brunt of its immediate and long-term devastating effects, even as they provide essential services to our societies. But can the pandemic also present opportunities to address market failures and position workers’ rights as central to a more sustainable, just, and resilient economy? Join us for a talk with Anita Ramasastry (UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights), Alison Kiehl Friedman (ICAR), Kim Cordova (UFCW), and Janhavi Dave (Homenet South Asia); moderated by Aminta Ossom (Harvard) and grounded in the experiences of workers in the food and agricultural sector, and in the informal economy.
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Education Rebound for All During and After COVID-19: Charting the Way Forward
Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
The impact of COVID-19 on education is tangibly felt across the globe, with school closures, disparities in access to remote education, disruption to free meal and vaccine programs, risk of increased dropout rates, and more. How can we ensure an accelerated recovery that doesn’t widen educational attainment —and related power— gaps between the rich and the poor, between boys and girls, and between the Global North and the Global South? Join us for a talk with experts Helen Abadzi (UT Arlington), Elin Martínez (Human Rights Watch), and Gustavo Payan (DAI/ INEE); moderated by Maya Alkateb-Chami (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
COVID-19 and the Rights of Persons With Disabilities
Thursday, May 7, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
The global pandemic is exacerbating discrimination against, and challenges faced by, persons with physical and mental disabilities. Some may face increased risk of becoming infected or seriously-ill with COVID-19, including in institutions, and others may face obstacles in accessing healthcare and other necessary services and supplies. How can advocates promote a disability rights-based response to the pandemic, including one that centers persons with disabilities in decision-making on prevention and containment measures? Join us for a talk with Catalina Devandas Aguilar (UN Special Rapporteur on Rights of Persons with Disabilities), Mohamed Farah (Somali Disability Empowerment Network), Ben Gauntlett (Disability Rights Commissioner, Australia), and Amanda McRae (Women Enabled International); moderated by Elizabeth Emens (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
The Deployment of COVID-19 to Undermine Sexual and Reproductive Health
Tuesday, May 5, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
As COVID-19 threatens to collapse our healthcare system, sexual and reproductive health and rights are in grave jeopardy. Opportunistic policymakers are exploiting the pandemic to restrict or outright ban abortion care and access to contraception. In what ways has the health emergency exacerbated already existing vulnerabilities, and in what other ways has it created new problems? What advocacy strategies are being used to combat the exploitation of a state of emergency to curtail sexual and reproductive health? How is access to medical treatment for trans people negatively affected by the pandemic? What lessons can be learned from the HIV epidemic in relation to the increased use of the criminal law in the name of protecting public health? How can human rights principles be used to protect bodily autonomy and sexual/reproductive health during this crisis? Join us for a talk with Brigitte Amiri (ACLU), Eszter Kismodi (Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters), Melissa Murray (NYU), and Quita Tinsley (Access Reproductive Care-Southeast); moderated by Katherine Franke (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
COVID-19 and Mental Health: Wellbeing and Resilience During the Pandemic
Thursday, April 30, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
Covid-19 has profoundly disrupted how we conduct human rights work. Advocates around the world are adapting to new challenges brought on by lockdowns, including needing to balance responding to new and exacerbated human rights concerns, increased personal and family responsibilities, and the challenges of remote working. Further, many traditional strategies for resilience and wellbeing such as maintaining strong social bonds and organic peer support networks, are being tested as we remain physically apart. Join us for a discussion on navigating mental health concerns during COVID-19, and strategies for individual, organizational, and movement-wide wellbeing; with Yvette Alberdingk-Thijm (WITNESS), Yara Sallam (Egyptian Feminist & Human Rights Advocate); Douglas Mawadri (Associates for Health Rights Uganda), Margaret Satterthwaite (NYU); moderated by Anjli Parrin (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Movements, Organizing, and Empowerment in the Time of COVID-19
Tuesday, April 28, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
The pandemic is, quite literally, pushing people apart. Physical distancing makes traditional forms of organizing and activism—rallies, protests, Know Your Rights trainings; the people power generated by physical proximity—impossible. The pandemic exacerbates preexisting inequities, disproportionately affecting communities and people already marginalized. How are organizations and social movements shifting tactics to continue to build the power of marginalized communities in this new era? What are the greatest challenges? How can human rights organizations and academic institutions best provide solidarity that centers the leadership and calls to action from those most affected? Join us for a talk with experts Antonio Gutierrez (Organized Communities Against Deportations), Michelle Morse (Equal Health), Tawana Petty (Detroit Community Technology Project), and Shawn Sebastian (People's Action); moderated by Sukti Dhital (NYU).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
COVID-19 and its Response: Risks to Refugees, Migrants, and Asylum-Seekers
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
As governments respond to the novel coronavirus, asylum-seekers, migrants, and refugees are increasingly being left behind. Housing in overcrowded camps and informal reception centers undermines access to the adequate health care, sanitation, and water needed to protect against COVID-19. And some governments are taking advantage of the pandemic to enact discriminatory prevention and treatment measures, including by rejecting asylum-seekers. Join us for a discussion with Bill Frelick (Human Rights Watch), Gillian Triggs (UNHCR), and Sana Mustafa (Asylum Access/ Network for Refugee Voices); moderated by Kate Evans (Duke).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
COVID-19 in Conflict: What to Expect? And What Can be Done?
Tuesday, April 21, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
In conflict-affected countries, healthcare systems have been neglected or destroyed, basic services such as water are often lacking, and civilians are already living under extreme stress, often in crowded conditions. As the pandemic spreads, the consequences will likely be devastating, and the UN Secretary General has recently called for a global ceasefire. Join us for a discussion on the pandemic in conflict, responsibilities of warring parties under international humanitarian law, and how advocates are working to promote both peace and health; with Azadeh Moaveni (International Crisis Group), Cordula Droege (International Committee of the Red Cross), Farea Al-Muslimi (Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies), and Kate Kizer (Win Without War); moderated by Priyanka Motaparthy (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Innovating Human Rights: Responsibility, Hope, and Strategy in Crisis
Wednesday, April 15, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
Join us for a discussion with leading human rights thinkers on how the pandemic spotlights the need for the human rights field to innovate. Kathryn Sikkink (Harvard) will discuss her new book The Hidden Face of Rights: Toward a Politics of Responsibility, in which she argues that more emphasis needs to be on the responsibilities of all to implement rights. César Rodríguez Garavito (NYU/Just Labs) will discuss his new research, scholarship, and advocacy on forward-looking, hope-based strategies for advancing rights. Moderated by Gulika Reddy (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Innovating Advocacy: Legal Approaches in a New [Pandemic] Terrain
Tuesday, April 14, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
How are justice-seeking movements and organizations adapting to the rapidly-changing environment created by the spread of COVID-19? What tools are proving most effective in their responses? And what role can lawyers and courts play to curb deepened and emerging justice challenges? Join us for conversation with experts and advocates Amna Akbar (Ohio State), Dr. Hassan Jabareen (Adalah Legal Center) and Pamela Spees (Center for Constitutional Rights); moderated by JoAnn Kamuf Ward (Columbia).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Flattening the Pandemic Curve While Upholding Digital and Information Rights
Wednesday, April 8, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
The novel coronavirus has led to millions of people working virtually, and more dependence than ever on access to reliable information and the internet. Some governments have responded to the pandemic by dramatically increasing surveillance on populations, and companies gather and retain huge amounts of our personal data. Join us for a talk on the risks and opportunities for digital and information rights during the pandemic, with experts Adebayo Okeowo (WITNESS), Diego Naranjo (European Digital Rights), Maria Luisa Stasi (Article 19); and Michael Pisa (Center for Global Development); moderated by Janlori Goldman (Columbia/NYU).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Is It a Felony to Provide Water to Migrants?
April 7, 2020
This CLE webinar brought together Grey Kuykendall, criminal defense attorney who represented No More Deaths activists in Arizona, Ellen Yaroshefsky, Executive Director of the Monroe H. Freedman Institute for the Study of Legal Ethics at Hofstra Law School, and Katherine Franke, Faculty Director of the Law, Rights and Religion Project at Columbia Law School. The panel discussed the history of religious liberty law and specifically addressed the recent federal prosecutions of volunteers working with the group No More Deaths/No Más Muertes in Southern Arizona.
COVID-19's Impact on Health, Housing, Water, and Sanitation: Socioeconomic Rights in Crisis
Tuesday, April 7, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 pm
The pandemic spotlights and exacerbates socioeconomic inequalities caused by decades of neoliberal policies and failures to invest in social infrastructure. The basic rights to health, housing, and water and sanitation are at risk for millions of people around the world. How can human rights-based approaches ground an effective response to the pandemic now, and build a better world afterwards? Join us for a talk with UN Special Rapporteur on Housing Leilani Farha, community advocate Catherine Flowers (Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice), and activist and epidemiologist Gregg Gonsalves (Yale); moderated by Aya Fujimura-Fanselow (Duke).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Impacts of COVID-19 on Marginalized Groups: Implications for Policy and Advocacy
Thursday, April 2, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
Pandemics affect individuals differently, with policy responses potentially worsening existing inequalities and discrimination for marginalized groups, such as women, children, older persons, those unhoused, people with disabilities, detainees, refugees, and migrants. Join us for a discussion on the risks of deepened inequality within the COVID-19 pandemic, and how governments can use a human rights-based and intersectional approach to ensure the rights of all persons are protected. The panel features Amanda Klasing (Human Rights Watch), Charanya Krishnaswami (Amnesty), and Vince Warren (Center for Constitutional Rights); moderated by Professor Jayne Huckerby (Duke).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
States of Emergency and Government Powers in and After the Pandemic
Tuesday, March 31, 2020 | 12:10-1:10 PM
As governments respond to the novel coronavirus, many are declaring states of emergency and giving themselves expansive powers. Some censor information, surveil populations, and detain critics. Are governments overreaching? Will new powers be rolled back when the crisis is over? Join us for a discussion between Fionnuala Ni Aolain (UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism), Isabel Linzer (Freedom House), and Yaqiu Wang (Human Rights Watch); moderated by Ryan Goodman (NYU/Just Security).
This event is part of the COVID-19: Advancing Rights and Justice During a Pandemic Virtual Speaker Series, a partnership between Columbia Law School Human Rights Institute, Duke Law’s International Human Rights Clinic, Columbia Law School’s Center for Gender and Sexuality Law, and Just Security. For more information on the virtual speaker series, please visit www.tinyurl.com/COVID19JusticeSeries.
Symposium on Policing the Womb, by Professor Michele Goodwin
March 25th, 2020 | 04:30 pm - 06:00 pm
via GoToWebinar
Policing the Womb brings to life the chilling ways in which women have become the targets of secretive state surveillance of their pregnancies. Michele Goodwin expands the reproductive health and rights debate beyond abortion to include how legislators increasingly turn to criminalizing women for miscarriages, stillbirths, and threatening the health of their pregnancies. The horrific results include women giving birth while shackled in leg irons, in solitary confinement, and even delivering in prison toilets. This timely book brings to light how the unrestrained efforts to punish and police women's bodies have led to the United States being the deadliest country in the developed world to be pregnant.
About Michele Goodwin
Michele Bratcher Goodwin is a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine and founding director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy. She is author of the upcoming book Policing the Womb: Invisible Women and the Criminalization of Motherhood.
Open House: Center for Gender & Sexuality Law
Wednesday, March 4th, 2020 | William & June Hall | Room 600
4:20 pm - 5:30 pm
Thinking about getting involved with the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law at Columbia Law School? Stop by the Open House to learn about our work and how you can participate. You will also learn about the intersecting work of the Law, Rights, and Religion Project.
The Politics and Rights of Trans & Gender-Nonconforming People
Wednesday, November 20th, 2019
Columbia Law School | Jerome Greene Hall | Room 101
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Eventbrite Link | Watch Event Recording
This panel will discuss the current state of affairs for trans and gender non-conforming people in the U.S. More specifically, speakers will reflect on arguments recently made before the Supreme Court in cases affecting the trans and GNC community.
Speakers include:
- Katherine Franke, Sulzbacher Professor of Law, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Columbia University
- Alejandra Caraballo, Staff Attorney, Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF)
- Paisley Currah, Endowed Chair of Women's and Gender Studies, and Professor of Political Science, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center
This event is free and open to the public.
The Harms of Policing Sex in Athletics - the Cases of Caster Semenya and Dutee Chand
Tuesday, October 1, 2019
Columbia Law School | Jerome Greene Hall | Room 103
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
Eventbrite Link | Watch Event Recording
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law and the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies are pleased to host an event focusing on recent rulings by bodies regulating international track and field competition that create arbitrary and discriminatory qualifications for competition in the “female” category define cases and debates regarding gender equity and the policing of gender in sports. Dr. Katrina Karkazis, Senior Fellow at Yale Law School, will contextualize the discussion, providing background regarding the case of Caster Semenya, a world-class sprinter who has been the subject of debates on the policing of gender and sex by the International Association of Athletics Federation. Following Dr. Karkazis' introduction, Professor Katherine Franke will moderate a discussion with Semenya's attorneys.
Similar cases involving athletes and the policing of gender include the case of Dutee Chand, who was subjected to scrutiny regarding her gender and eligibility to participate in sporting events by the International Olympic Committee in 2014.
The policing of gender in sports through the testing of chromosomes, testosterone levels, and other biometrics imposes rigid structures on the diversity that is human biology, gender, and experience. The policing of gender in this manner could also set precedents that may be used to discriminate against people on the basis of gender identity and expression.
This program is free and open to the public.
Global Judicial Leadership Conference - The National Association of Woman Judges
Monday-Tuesday, June 10-11, 2019
Multiple Locations | New York, NY
The Global Leadership Conference was a two-day conference convened by the National Association of Woman Judges in New York City. Day One (Monday, June 10, 2019) event activities were held at the United Nations. Day Two (Tuesday, June 11, 2019) Event activities for day 2 were held at Columbia Law School.
Full Details for Day 1, here: https://www.nawj.org/schedule/events-calendar/global-judicial-leadership
Full Details for Day 2, here: https://www.nawj.org/schedule/events-calendar/global-judicial-leadership
Gender and the Law of the Sea: Book Launch and Panel Discussion
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Columbia Law School | Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm
In "Gender and the Law of the Sea," a distinguished group of law of the sea and feminist scholars critically engage with one of the oldest fields of international law. While the law of the sea has been traditionally portrayed as a technical, gender-neutral set of rules of concern to States rather than humans, the authors in this volume persuasively argue that critical feminist perspectives are needed to question the underlying assumptions of ostensibly gender-neutral norms. Coming at a time when the presence of women at sea is increasing, the volume forcefully and successfully argues that legal rules are relevant to ensure gender equality and the empowerment of women and gender minorities at sea, in an effort to render law for the oceans more inclusive.
1969 - 2019 - Fifty years of defying gender: How Stonewall riots changed our world
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Consulate General of France | New York, NY
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
On Tuesday, June 4th, 2019, the Consulate General of France hosted a panel in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York City. The program, 1969-2019 - Fifty years of defying gender: How Stonewall riots changed our world, will feature a panel discussion with leading experts on issues of gender, law, and sociology.
For further details about this program, please contact Catherine Remy, at [email protected].
Live Google Hangout: The Religious Directives for Catholic Hospitals are Putting Women's Lives at Risk
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Webinar - 8:00 pm EST
Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuzsC0-djX0
On Tuesday, May 21st, Kira Shepherd, Director of the Racial Justice Program with the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School participated in a live webinar hosted by the filmmakers of Birthright: A War Story, with representatives from Ms. Magazine and Rewire.News. The webinar focused on how the Conference of Catholic Bishops' Ethical and Religious Directives restrict access to reproductive health care and pose health harms to women of color.
Right to Resist: Fighting the Criminalization of Migrant Activism
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
6:45 pm
Event link: Right to Resist: Fighting the Criminalization of Migrant Activism
Professor Katherine Franke joined Ravi Ragbir in discussion about the criminalization of migrant activism, and the criminalization of faith-based activists engaged in work supporting immigrants' rights.
This program was hosted by INCITE, with co-support from the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law and the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at Columbia Law School
Finding our Lost Marie Curies: Gender Diversity in Innovation
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Case Lounge
3:00 pm
Event link: Finding our Lost Marie Curies: Gender Diversity in Innovation
Moderated by Professor Colleen Chien, and convened in conjunction with the New York Intellectual Property Law Association, this program brought together industry leaders in STEM to discuss issues related to gender diversity and representation in patent registration and in technological innovation.
The Marriage Equality Movement in Taiwan
Friday, April 19, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
12:10 pm
Event link: The Marriage Equality Movement in Taiwan
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law co-supported a lunchtime panel discussion on the Marriage Equality movement in Taiwan with the Taiwanese Law Student Association. Panelists included Wen Liu, Evan Wolfson, and Suzanne Goldberg. The panel was moderated by Ivane Lin, a 2019 LLM Candidate at Columbia Law School.
Critical Race Theory: A Primer
Thursday, March 14, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall Annex
4:30 pm
Event link: Critical Race Theory: A Primer
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law co-hosted Professor Kendall Thomas and the Center for the Study of Law and Culture's discussion with Columbia Law School alumni, Khiara Bridges, on the topic of her book, Critical Race Theory: A Primer
Survived and Punished
Friday, March 1st - Saturday, March 2, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall
9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Event link: Survived and Punished
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law was pleased to support the Barnard Center for Research on Women in co-hosting this year's convening of Survived & Punished. The conference focuses on issues surrounding the criminalization of survivors of domestic violence, and tactics to confront structural and systemic inequalities.
Queer Disruptions III
Thursday, February 28 - Friday, March 1st
Columbia University in the City of New York
The Forum at Columbia University
West 125th Street and Broadway
Event link: Queer Disruptions III
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law was pleased to co-support the third annual iteration of the Institute for Research on Women, Gender and Sexuality's conference, Queer Disruptions. A focus of this year's conference was to convene an international slate of esteemed scholars, activists, and artists to celebrate GLQ’s 25th anniversary and to reflect on the seminal conference Black Nations/Queer Nations from 1995.
Sanctuary Law: Can Religious Liberty Protect Immigrants?
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 103
6:30 pm
Event link: Sanctuary Law: Can Religious Liberty Protect Immigrants?
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law and the Law, RIghts, and Religion Project partnered with the Institute for Religion, Culture, and Public Life in hosting this evening panel discussion and CLE Program on the topic of the New Sanctuary Movement, Immigration Law, and the ways in which different movement activists and advocates are mobilizing religious liberty law in support of immigrants.
Corporate Feminism & Its Discontents
Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Columbia Law School
Columbia Maison Francaise, East Gallery
6:00 pm
Event link: Corporate Feminism & Its Discontents
This program, convened by the Columbia University Center for the Study of Social Difference, on Corporate Feminism & its Discontents, addressed the successes and limitations of corporate policies to promote diversity and inclusion. Panelists included Janice Reals Ellig of the Ellig Group, Dr. Yasmine Ergas, of the School for International and Public Affairs at Columbia University, Melissa Fisher who was a 2019 Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Public Knowledge at New York University, and Katherine Phillips, the Reuben Mark Professor of Organizational Character at Columbia University.
Using Human Rights Strategies to Address Gender Bias in Policing in the United States
Monday, March 11, 2019
Columbia Law School
William & June Warren Hall, Room 103
12:10 pm
Event link: Using Human Rights Strategies to Address Gender Bias in Policing in the United States
Professor Caroline Bettinger-López, Professor of Clinical Legal Education and Director of the Human Rights CLinic at the University of MNiami School of law spoke on issues of domestic violence and international human rights law. Rofessor Bettinger-López' discussion focused on the landmark case of Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States, the first international human rights case brought by a domestic violence survivor against the United States. Professor Bettinger-López was lead counsel on the case, and she discussed her work with her legal team in the quest for justice, truth and accountability, and ongoing efforts using human rights strategies to address gender bias in policing.
Reframing Transgender Violence
Thursday, January 24 - Friday, January 25, 2019
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Annex
4:15 pm
Event Link: Reframing Transgender Violence
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law co-hosted a conference program with the Center for the Study of Social Difference and the Center for the Study of Law and Culture at Columbia Law School. Reframing Transgender Violence was the final public workshop of the CSSD's Reframing Gendered Violence project, and opened up a global conversation among scholars and practitioners that recasts the problem of gender-based-violence in a wide range of fields.
The program featured moderated discussions by scholars in Gender Studies, Critical Race Theory, Sociology and Anthropology. Featured speakers included C. Riley Snorton, Joss Taylor Greene, Chinyere Ezie, Catherine Clune-Taylor, Asli Zengin, and Christina Hanhardt.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Engendering Race
Monday, November 26, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event Link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Engendering Race
Janai Nelson, Associate Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund spoke as part of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law's Fall 2018 Series, "The Front Lines of Gender Justice" on topics of how gender and race intersect with regard to issues of civil rights, in "Engendering Race."
Overcoming Section 377: The Decriminalization of Homosexuality and the Indian Supreme Court
Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Case Lounge
4:20 pm
Event link: Overcoming Section 377: The Decriminalization of Homosexuality and the Indian Supreme Court
On September 6th, 2018 in a landmark judgment for the LGBTQ community in India, the Supreme Court abolished Section 377, a colonial-era sodomy law that was used to criminalize homosexuality.
Columbia Law School's Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju represented the lead petitioners in the case, seeking to overturn Section 377 on the basis that it was unconstitutional, as it enabled discrimination and stigmatization of individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and expression. Leading up to the hearing, they were the prime architects of a creative, multi-year litigation strategy to rid India of Section 377, which Guruswamy called “a colonial stain on [India's] collective national conscience”—an archaic law that sowed debilitating fear and stigma among sexual minorities.
This program featured a panel discussion moderated by Professor Katherine Franke, with panelists Menaka Guruswamy, Arundhati Katju, and Suzanne Goldberg.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Criminalization of Pregnancy
Monday, November 19, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Criminalization of Pregnancy
Nancy Rosenbloom spoke as part of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law's Fall 2018 series on "The Front Lines of Gender Justice" on the criminalization of pregnancy and pregnant persons in the United States. Nancy Rosenbloom is the Director of Legal Advocacy with the National Advocates for Pregnant Women. Issues discussed included fetal personhood laws, the criminalization of pregnant persons, the criminalization of miscarriage and self-induced abortion, and the inhumane treatment that incarcerated pregnant persons experience in the United States.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: The Future of Queer and Trans Rights
Monday, November 12, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: The Future of Queer and Trans Rights
Chinyere Ezie is a nationally recognized civil rights lawyer and social justice activist who specializes in constitutional litigation and anti-discrimination work. She is a Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights where she focuses on racial justice, gender justice, and LGBT rights work. Chinyere previously worked as a Staff Attorney at the Southern Poverty Law Center LGBT Rights Project, where she was lead counsel for transgender rights activist Ashley Diamond in her suit against the Georgia Department of Corrections.
In this event, Professor Franke invited Ezie to speak on issues regarding the future of Queer and Trans Rights, as part of the Fall 2018 series hosted by the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law and Professor Katherine Franke, "On the Front Lines of Gender Justice."
LGBTQ+ Rights in a Global Context: A Lunchtime talk with Pepe Julan Onziema, moderated by Professor Katherine Franke
Monday, November 12, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
12:10 pm
Event Link: LGBTQ+ Rights in a Global Context
In this lunchtime program, Pepe Julian Onziema, an LGBTQ+ and Human Rights Activist spoke on his experiences as an advocate and activist in Uganda. Professor Franke moderated the discussion, engaging Onziema on the framing of LGBTQ+ rights and LGBTQ+ rights movements' in a global context.
Pepe Julian Onziema was a 2018 Fellow with the Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University in the City of New York
Advancing Women’s Rights in the U.S.: Lessons from the Fight for Maternal Healt
Wednesday, November 7, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 107
12:10 pm
Event link: Advancing Women’s Rights in the U.S.: Lessons from the Fight for Maternal Health
In this lunchtime program, co-hosted by the Human Rights Institute and the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, Pilar Herroro, Human Rights Counsel with the Center for Reproductive Rights, and Breana Lipscomb, US Maternal Health and Human Rights Campaign Manager with the Center for Reproductive Rights discussed the United States' maternal mortality rate, and how the current crisis in maternal health in the United States disproportionately impacts women of color. The talk explored how reproductive rights organizations have begun leveraging human rights principles and strategies to improve health policy and outcomes locally and nationally.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Gender and Migration
Monday, November 5, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Gender and Migration
On Monday, November 5th, Professor Katherine Franke hosted Chaumtoli Huq, Founder of Law at the Margins and Associate Professor of Law with CUNY Law School to speak on issues related to gender and gender justice in migration and immigration globally.
This program was offered as part of the Fall 2018 series "On the Front Lines of Gender Justice" hosted by the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law.
"Capability Without Dignity?" A Lunchtime Talk with Dr. Joseph Fischel
Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 646
12:10 pm
Event Link: "Capability Without Dignity?" A Lunchtime Talk hosted by the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law
Dr. Joseph Fischel was a Visiting Scholar with the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law in the Fall of 2018. As part of Dr. Fischel's Visiting Scholar appointment, he presented a recent paper that he co-authored with Claire McKinney, "Capability without Dignity," in a lunchtime program moderated by Professor Franke.
The paper contemplates whether the dcosts of "dignity" as the foundational core of the Capabilities Approach to social justice and institutional obligation are worth the benefits, engaging sex and abortion as case studies for confronting and troubling the use of "dignity" as the foundation of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach through the application of moral and political lenses.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Gender and Climate Change
Monday, October 22, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Gender and Climate Change
Colette Pichon Battle is the Executive Director of the Gulf Coast Center for Law and Policy. In this afternoon discussion as part of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law's Fall 2018 series on "The Front Lines of Gender Justice," she spoke on how issues of climate change and environmental justice are gender justice and racial justice issues, particularly in the Gulf Coast of the United States.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Human Rights Commissions as Gender Justice Innovators
Monday, October 15, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Human Rights Commissions as Gender Justice Innovators
Carmelyn Malalis, Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights (NYCCHR) spoke as part of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law's series "The Front Lines of Gender Justice." Malalis spoke about the ways in which a goal of her work with NYCCHR has been to use NYCCHR's resources to support and advocate for gender justice through law and policy in New York City.
Me too? The Invisible Older Victims of Sexual Violence
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 546
12:10 pm
Event link: Me too? The Invisible Older Victims of Sexual Violence
In a discussion moderated by Professor Suzanne Goldberg, Dr. Ruthy Lowenstein Lazar presented on her paper, "Me too? The Invisible Older Victims of Sexual Violence." The paper is a review of legal research on elder abuse and of the legal and feminist literature on violence against women: the paper notes that older female victims of sexual violence are hardly present in these literatures, and attempts to fill the research gap by bringing th ehidden issue of sexual violence against older women to light. Lowenstein Lazar notes that scholars writing on elder abuse, rape, and violence against women tend to analyze age and gendered sexual violence separate from one another, without accounting for their interplay.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Sex Workers' Rights
Monday, October 8, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Sex Workers' Rights
Rosie Wang, Director of Legal Advocacy and Services with the Sex Workers Project in New York, spoke with Professor Franke on the decriminalization of sex work, and how law and policy in New York may be mobilized to protect the rights of sex workers. This program was presented as part of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law's Fall 2018 series on "The Front Lines of Gender Justice."
“Move Aside and Cover Yourself”: Between Gender Equality and Religious Accommodation in Today’s Israel
Wednesday, October 3, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 646
Event link: “Move Aside and Cover Yourself”: Between Gender Equality and Religious Accommodation in Today’s Israel
Dr. Yofi Tirosh is a Tel Aviv University legal scholar, public intellectual, and activist. In this presentation, moderated by Professor Suzanne Goldberg, Dr. Tirosh examined current cultural dilemmas regarding the public ethos of gender equality and the accommodation of religious sensibilities of Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox Jewish and conservative Muslim communities in Israel.
On one side of this clash are secular and non-Orthodox women who have grown up expecting full access to education, opportunities, representation in the cultural sphere, and equal protection under the law. On the other side are communities who practice strict modesty and sex-segregation from an early age through adulthood. The omnipresence of women in Israeli public life is problematic for ultra-Orthodox men who are forbidden to look at or hear the voices of women who are not members of their immediate family. Their plea for an accommodation of their religious beliefs inherently entails the exclusion of all women, Orthodox and not, from public life.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Reproductive Justice and Religious Liberty
Monday, October 1, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 105
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Reproductive Justice and Religious Liberty
Brigitte Amiri is the Deputy Director of the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project. In this program, Brigitte spoke with Professor Katherine Franke about issues related to the provision of reproductive rights and access to reproductive health care in the United States, and the ways in which Religious Liberty has been mobilized by the religious right to restrict access to care. Amiri spoke of her work with the ACLU's Reproductive Freedom Project, including on the case of Garza v. Hargan, regarding abortion access for a young woman who traveled to the United States as an unaccompanied minor.
The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Gender and Mass Incarceration
Monday, September 24, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 104
3:00 pm
Event link: The Front Lines of Gender Justice: Gender and Mass Incarceration
This program represented the first in a series of events hosted by the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law in the Fall of 2018 addressing core issues that represent "The Front Lines of Gender Justice." Led by Geraldine Downey, Director of the Center for Justice at Columbia University, this discussion addressed concerns about gender and mass incarceration, and how mass incarceration disproportionately harms women and communities of color, LGBTQIA persons, and persons whose experiences put them at the intersection of multiple marginalized groups.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg: The Making of a Justice and Cultural Icon - Film Screening of RBG and Panel Discussion
Monday, September 17, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 106
6:30 pm
In this program, the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law screened the Academy-Award nominated documentary, RBG, followed by a panel discussion. This program was offered in advance of a Fall 2018 program hosted at Columbia Law School featuring Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in conversation with Dean Gillian Lester. The panel, moderated by Professor Katherine Franke, featured Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's daughter, Professor Jane Ginsburg, granddaughter Clara Spera, and the documentary filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West.
Book talk with author Tanya Katerí Hernández, "Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination"
Wednesday, September 12, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Annex
12:10 pm
In this program, co-supported with the Center for the Study of Law and Culture, Professor Katherine Franke convened a panel discussion with Tanya Katerí Hernández, author of "Multiracials and Civil Rights: Mixed-Race Stories of Discrimination" and Professor Kendall Thomas of Columbia Law School. The purpose of the panel was to explore the topics addressed in Katerí Hernández' book, and to address core issues facing civil rights and social justice movements as our society grows more diverse.
Film Screening and Discussion: The Selling of Innocents
Monday, September 10, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 107
6:00 pm
Event Link: Film Screening and Discussion: The Selling of Innocents
This program, co-supported with the Comestic Violence Project at Columbia Law School, comprised a film screening of the documentary, 'The Selling of Innocents,' followed by a discussion with the filmmaker and advocate, Ruchira Gupta.
The film addresses concerns about sex trafficking between Nepal and Bombay, India, particularly to the Falkland Road Kamatipura area. The film was the winner of the 1997 Emmy in News and Journalism for Outstanding Investigative Journalism.
"The Disintegration of Marriage" by Kaipo Matsumura
Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall | Room 646
12:10 pm
Event Link: The Disintegration of Marriage
In this lunchtime talk, Kaipo Matsumura, of Arizona State University, discussed his working paper, "The DIsintegration of Marriage." The article notes how the Supreme Court's decision in Obergefell v. Hodges has led to a greater expansion of controversy regarding marriage rights, including an increase in cases regarding the rights of LGBTQ persons and same-sex couples to the Supreme Court, most prominently the case of Masterpiece Cakeshop Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, and cases regarding the rights to parentage. The article argues that the framework of integration/disintegration provides a novel lens for thinking about what marriage is and how it should be constituted. Discussion with Professor Matsumura was moderated by Professor Suzanne Goldberg.
Welcome Luncheon: The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law
Thursday, August 30, 2018
Columbia Law School
Jerome Greene Hall
Drapkin Lounge | 3rd Floor
1:00 pm
Event Link: Welcome Luncheon 2018
The Center for Gender & Sexuality Law held its annual welcome luncheon to incoming students to Columbia Law School on Thursday, August 30th, 2018 in the Drapkin Lounge.
The purpose of the Luncheon is to meet new students, and provide opportunities for incoming 1L, LLM, and transfer students to meet the Faculty and Staff of the Center for Gender & Sexuality Law, and to learn about Centers, Clinics, and Student Organizations at Columbia Law School focused on issues of gender and reproductive justice, as well as more broadly related to social justice lawyering and advocacy work.