Modern Day Feminism and Law

theastoncanon

Dec 18, 20247 min read

Ella Gray

TW: This article contains discussion some may find distressing involving, gender based violence, sexual assualt and rape.

Before I dive into Feminism, a follow up on my last article on AI and Law: the UK

government has launched a new AI safety platform for businesses, 1 Apple launched ‘Apple

Intelligence’, Hugh Nelson was prosecuted in a landmark deepfake case. 2 This is exactly what

I mean by the ‘constant developments’ 3 in technology. Over the past month I’ve been

applying to several law firms in hope for a placement next year. On the website of almost

every single firm, one of the key goals or discussions was working with, adapting to and

incorporating AI and emerging technology into the legal field. 4 When attending virtual

events, the digitalisation of today and skills mismatch caused by this were discussed. 5

Technology secretary Peter Kyle says UK will legislate against AI risks in the next year. 6 AI

is a huge discussion point in the legal industry and in general modern-day development, I

expect to write more articles on the topic.

When it came to the research and discussion of wrongs and misjustices against women, there

are so may crises, conflicts and political developments around the world, I found it nearly

impossible to pick a few core themes to discuss in this article. Alas, based on the books I had

at my disposal and the topics I am most aware of I have chosen to discuss the following:

 Women Working in Law
 Human Rights and Gender Based Violence
 Other discussion points

Women working in Law

Historically, women have been under-represented. Here I will be referring to the UK – before

WW1 and the Suffragettes women couldn’t work the same jobs as men and even up until

1979 with the implementation of the Equal Pay Act 1970, women were not paid equally.

Arguably women are still not paid equally to men but this is not my main point here. Specific

to the legal system and appointment of women as judges, the ‘judicial appointments method

is gendered’. 7 Effectively, women are disadvantaged, evidenced through the shocking comparison of male to female judges in senior courts – 30% of judges in the High Court and

above are women. 8 Research commissioned by the Bar Council and Lord Chancellor’s

Department in 1992 discovered women were also disadvantaged in the Bar, as well as the

judiciary. They called for reform and since then we have seen slow improvement. 9

Obviously, this is an issue as there should be equal opportunity for men and women, but

diving deeper, in ‘A Feminists Perspective on Public Law’ by …, the ‘impact of gender on

the nature of judging’ is discussed. With more women judges, the way the law is interpreted

will change. This is an analysis beyond just women, 10 having a broader and more diverse

judiciary will change the nature of law as different experiences and perspectives will be

brought into account.

On improvement, The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 required an independent Judicial

Appointments Commission creating a fairer process in appointing judges. 11 As we see women

in more senior positions, even if there is no change in judging, it will change the perspectives

on the relationship between authority and women. 12

Human Rights and Gender Based Violence

My next article is on Human Rights, so I won’t dive too deep into this topic. As stated by

Helena Kennedy In Misjustice:…, human rights advocate that ‘every human being should be

valued and respected’. 13 As part of Aston’s Girls Human Rights Hub Society and Amnesty

Society, Human Rights are something I am strongly interested in. If I don’t go into

commercial law as a career path, I will be a human rights lawyer. Within Amnesty

International there are many campaigns, several being specific to women. I strongly

recommend having a look at the Campaigns in more detail, but I will briefly discuss women’s

human rights as seen on the Amnesty International Website. 14

Around the world girls are denied the same schooling and suffer violence and abuse –

physical, mental and sexual. There are breaches of women’s human rights:

 Online 15
In Afghanistan, where the Taliban has denied women the right to talk to each other 16
In the USA, where reproductive rights are at huge risk 17
 In Sudan, discussed in an article released last issue on The Aston Canon, where
women are committing mass suicide because of rape 18
In France, on wearing religious headwear 19
In China, on Freedom of Speech on the #MeToo movement 20
In Iran, on forcing veiling laws on girls as young as seven 21
And elsewhere

I’m sure you’ve heard of Gisèle Pelicot, whilst writing this article she gave her final

statement in court against her husband – "It's time that the macho, patriarchal society that trivialises rape changes". The shocking acts of over 50 men including and enforced by her ex

husband have raised so much awareness for rape cases. The process of prosecution of rapists in England is long-winded (months) 22 and difficult. Many if not most rape cases don’t get as far as court due to this. One movement that links to this is the #MeToo movement, which campaigns against sexual violence. 23 If you or anyone you know has been affected by sexual violence, Me Too offers lots of resources to help, linked at the end of the article. You can also sign up and join the movement, as well as donate on their website.

Below I will link some Amnesty links where you can vote, calling for action and make a

difference to several of these campaigns.

Other discussion points

My final few points are more miscellaneous and are based on conversations I have had with

peers, in classes and have heard about in the news.

First, the villainisation of women. I see this predominantly through societal expectations and

the media. One example I’ve discussed with friends and family a few times is Taylor Swift.

The amount of people who absolutely hate this woman never fails to shock me, and when I

ask why I always get one of two answers: her carbon emissions, or her music.

This villainisation isn’t just seen in modern day society, another example is Anne Boleyn. We

have little direct words from her and as she influenced King Henry VIII’s break from the

Catholic Church she gains a lot of negative attention in films. Whilst she was short-tempered,

should we be surprised considering the amount of pressure on her to have a son. Though

there was strain between Anne and her step-daughter Mary also, the rumours of poisoning or

starving Mary are just that – rumours. 24

In GCSE Sociology I learnt about the double standards in the criminal justice system. 25 How

when a woman commits a crime, society views her as worse than a male counterpart who

committed the same crime. This was based on the maternal expectation of women, and that it

is considered worse because it goes against ‘natural female behaviour’ – there is almost a

shock element.

My next point is how women aging is seen as a bad thing. This doesn’t just go for women,

and I understand that health deteriorates with age, but what I am specifically referring to here

is the number of comments women and girls seem to receive about wrinkles and on being

‘young and beautiful’. I am absolutely all for Botox and plastic surgery if someone wants it

but knowing girls changing their bodies for societies unrealistic expectations I will never get

behind. My issue doesn’t lie with the girls or the adaptations, but the society’s view on aging

and of women. This links somewhat to my last point on pornography as a public health crisis. 26 Pornography exacerbates sexual violence and desensitises sexual violence 27 to those who watch it, it creates unrealistic expectations of what both men and women should look like, and of what sex is. Again, my issue does not lie with the actors and actresses, but the system, the mistreatment/abuse and false portrayal that comes from pornography. There needs to be more education and stricter legislation for health and safety. We are seeing from the abundant research the negative effects now, but I am sure more evidence will come out on the long-term effects of this.

Again, there is only so much detail I can go into in one article. As mentioned before, my next

article will be on human rights as a whole and I’m sure there will be many more overlaps in

future articles. I urge you to use the links numbered below and throughout the article to have a further read into these issues, and to get involved using the links below. I have also linked the joining pages and social media pages of a few societies I highly recommend joining if you are at all interested in human rights.

Get involved:

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/JusticeforJustyna

https://www.amnesty.org.uk/actions/free-nasrin-sotoudeh

Have a read:

https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/content/article/law-shapes-us-contemporary-feminist-jurisprudence

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/feminism-law/

Societies:

Humanitarian Relief Society: https://www.astonsu.com/society/humanitarianrelief/ £4

membership, https://www.instagram.com/aston_hrsoc/

Aston Amnesty Society: https://www.astonsu.com/society/17557/ £2 membership,

https://www.instagram.com/amnestyastonsoc/?igsh=cG50cjkzeDZ5Zmlz

Girls Human Rights Hub: https://www.astonsu.com/society/17662/ £3 membership,