Access to Justice: Accelerating the Abandonment of FGM/C

Authors

Gretchen Kail, Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law

Abstract

This Note discusses the role comprehensive legislation traditionally plays through a top-down approach and proposes the use of bottom-up approaches to better leverage national laws and new legal norms to support collective societal action. The discussion views legislation and FGM/C through a social norm lens: "a comprehensive, multi-sectorial, culturally sensitive approach that incorporates a social perspective to impact collective change."

Section II of this Note defines FGMIC as a health issue, a human rights violation, and a social norm. Section III discusses relevant international and regional human rights frameworks; state obligations; divergent views on the effects and usefulness of national legislation; and an overview of current legislation. Section IV proposes the development of Human Rights-Based Approach ("HRBA") access to justice intervention to promote the rights of women and girls, support gender equity and through legal empowerment accelerate collective societal action towards abandonment of FGM/C.

Disciplines

Criminal Law | Criminal Procedure | Dispute Resolution and Arbitration | Human Rights Law | Law | Law and Gender

Recommended Citation

Gretchen Kail, Access to Justice: Accelerating the Abandonment of FGM/C, 19 Cardozo J. Conflict Resol. 759 (2018).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/cjcr/vol19/iss3/8