Indigenous women continue to be overrepresented in Canadian prisons; research demonstrates how their overincarceration and often extensive experiences of victimization are interconnected with and through ongoing processes of colonization. Implicating the System: Judicial Discourses in the Sentencing of Indigenous Women explores how judges navigate these issuesin sentencing by examining related discourses in selected judgments from a review of 175 decisions.The feminist theory of the victimization-criminalization continuum informs Elspeth Kaiser-Derrick's work. She examines its overlap with the Gladue analysis, foregrounding decisions that effectively integrate gendered understandings of Indigenous women's victimization histories, and problematizing those with less contextualized reasoning. Ultimately, she contends that judicial usage of the victimization-criminalization continuum deepens the Gladue analysis and augments its capacity to further its objectives of alternatives to incarceration. Kaiser-Derrick discusses how judicial discourses about victimization intersect with those about rehabilitation and treatment, and suggests associated problems, particularly where prison is characterized as a place of healing. Finally, she shows how recent incursions into judicial discretion, through legislative changes to the conditional sentencing regime that restrict the availability of alternatives to incarceration, are particularly concerning for Indigenous women in the system.

In Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Discrimination Holning Lau offers an incisive review of the conceptual questions that arise as legal systems around the world grapple with whether and how to protect people against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination. This volume is an essential guide for researchers seeking to acquaint themselves quickly with a comparative view of cutting-edge issues concerning sexual orientation and gender identity rights. Other titles published in this series: - Comparative Discrimination Law: Historical and Theoretical Frameworks, Laura Carlson; isbn 9789004345447 - International Human Rights Law and Discrimination Protections; A Comparison of Regional and National Responses, Mpoki Mwakagali; isbn 9789004345461 - Comparative Discrimination Law; Age as a Protected Ground, Lucy Vickers; isbn 9789004345539

The Northern/Irish Feminist Judgments Project inaugurates a fresh dialogue on gender, legal judgment, judicial power and national identity in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Through a process of judicial re-imagining, the project takes account of the peculiarly Northern/Irish concerns in shaping gender through judicial practice. This collection, following on from feminist judgments projects in Canada, England and Australia takes the feminist judging methodology in challenging new directions. This book collects 26 rewritten judgments, covering a range of substantive areas. As well as opinions from appellate courts, the book includes fi rst instance decisions and a fi ctional review of a Tribunal of Inquiry. Each feminist judgment is accompanied by a commentary putting the case in its social context and explaining the original decision. The book also includes introductory chapters examining the project methodology, constructions of national identity, theoretical and conceptual issues pertaining to feminist judging, and the legal context of both jurisdictions. The book, shines a light on past and future possibilities - and limitations - for judgment on the island of Ireland. 'This book provides a rich and expansive addition to the feminist judgments catalogue. The ... judgments demonstrate powerfully how Northern/Irish judges have contributed to the gendered politics of national identity, and how the narrow subject-positions they have created for women and 'others' could have been so much wider and more open.' Professor Rosemary Hunter, School of Law, Queen Mary University London. 'The Northern/Irish Feminist Judgments Project is inspirational reading for anyone interested in feminism or Irish studies ... It is a model of how to conduct feminist enquiry. Its most innovative contribution to scholarship and politics is how the rewriting of landmark legal judgments from a feminist perspective allows us to imagine (and therefore begin to construct) a more egalitarian, a more just, future.' Associate Professor Katherine O'Donnell, School of Philosophy, University College Dublin. If you let it, this book will make you think. ... It made me think - it reminded me, I suppose - that legal writing can be wonderful: rigorous, creative, deeply observant, provocative. Read it and see what it makes you think. Professor Therese Murphy, School of Law, Queen's University Belfast

The University of Cape Town holds an annual Celebrating Africa Month, a programme designed to honour the university’s connectedness and engagement in and around Africa. The various activities that take place during the month culminate in The Big Debate, a panel discussion on a topic of African relevance. The panel is made up of intellectuals from UCT and around the continent. Panelists who have taken part in The Big Debate over the years have all contributed written pieces to a series of books called the Celebrating Africa Series in the hands of the managing editor, Emma Arogundade, and series editors Prof. Harry Garuba and Prof. Evance Kalula.

Contested Intimacies: Sexuality, Gender and the Law in Africa is the latest title in this series, following on from 2014’s Big Debate, the topic of which was Sexuality and the Law.

A timely collection of essays, Contested Intimacies offers five unique analyses of the ways that sexuality, gender, and the law interact in eastern and southern African countries, primarily Uganda and South Africa. The authors argue strenuously for social critiques of the law that attend to the intricate intersections between different aspects of identity, whether class, race, national identity, within national, continental, and global debates about the status of gender and sexual minorities. In one way or another, all of the essays in this book also name patriarchy and its interest in validating heteronormative bonds as the chief motivation for anti-homosexuality and ‘decency’ laws in Africa.

With such incisive research, Contested Intimacies creates a critical space in which feminists and LGBTI communities, along with their allies, can forge new strategies in the effort to create a more just world, whether at the level of immediate locality, nation, or the continent.

The relationship between class and intimate violence against women is much misunderstood. While many studies of intimate violence focus on poor and working-class women, few examine the issue comparatively in terms of class privilege and class disadvantage. James Ptacek draws on in-depth interviews with sixty women from wealthy, professional, working-class, and poor communities to investigate how social class shapes both women's experiences of violence and the responses of their communities to this violence. Ptacek's framing of women's victimization as "social entrapment" links private violence to public responses and connects social inequalities to the dilemmas that women face.

In the landmark Lavallee decision of 1990, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that evidence of "battered woman syndrome" was admissible in establishing self-defence for women accused of killing their abusive partners. This book looks at the trials of eleven battered women, ten of whom killed their partners, in the fifteen years since Lavallee. Drawing extensively on trial transcripts and a rich expanse of interdisciplinary sources, the author looks at the evidence produced at trial and at how self-defence was argued. By illuminating these cases, this book uncovers the practical and legal dilemmas faced by battered women on trial for murder.

Universally considered to be pathbreaking, landmark, original, and provocative since its first edition was published three decades ago, "Women in Law" continues to provide a sociological and historical analysis of the overt and subtle ceilings placed on women in the legal profession in their various roles. It is a foundational work for departments of gender studies, law, and sociology - but also reads as accessible and interesting to a general audience.

Adding a new foreword by Stanford's Deborah Rhode, the thirtieth anniversary edition of this classic book reports countless revealing interviews, war stories, and inside glimpses of the many professional roles that women inhabit: lawyers, judges, professors, leaders, and backroom labor. It also brings vividly to life the candid - and sometimes cringeworthy - assessments by male lawyers and judges about the changes to the profession ushered in by the increasing entry of women to the lawyers' club.

Part of the "Classics of Law & Society" Series from Quid Pro, "Women in Law" is recognized as within the canon of its field, and now is available in a modern paperback format. It features embedded page numbers from the previous print editions (to facilitate referencing, classroom assignment, and continuity with the new ebook editions), as well as all the original tables and figures.

"From the new Foreword: "

"When Cynthia Fuchs Epstein published her pathbreaking account of "Women in Law," their status in the profession was separate and anything but equal.... Over the last three decades, much has changed but too much has remained the same. Now, about half of new lawyers in the United States are women and they are fairly evenly distributed across substantive areas. Yet significant gender disparities persist. Women constitute about a third of the lawyers in large firms, but only about 17 percent of equity partners. Attrition rates are almost twice as high among female associates as among comparable male associates.... When Epstein published "Women in Law," part of what attracted its widespread acclaim was its originality; it was among the first in what has now become a rich literature on gender and diversity in the profession. Indeed, the fact that the book is being reissued testifies not only to its enduring scholarly value, but also to the attention that the issue now commands.... Her book helped inspire that movement, and our profession remains deeply in her debt." - Deborah L. RhodeErnest W. McFarland Professor of Law, Stanford Law School

"Impressive ... a story which the legal world can read with no legal pride and which others will read with substantial interest." - "New York Times Book Review" (reviewing the first edition)

"Little did I know that my intimidation by senior officers in the UNDP had only just begun." Fouzia Saeed dreamed of bringing social change to the women of Pakistan and was thrilled to land her dream job at the world's ethical compass and institutional tour de force: The United Nations. As expected, the UN was a gathering place for passionate minds devoted to human rights and justice for all. Shockingly, at the UN mission in Pakistan it was also a breeding ground for powerful men who viewed women as sexual objects rather than professional equals. Refusing her boss's advances didn't stop the harassment. Reporting him to superiors didn't either. In her years-long struggle with torment and humiliation at the UN, Fouzia held strong, knowing her fight for women's rights was the only thing that could keep her going. But how do you fight for others' rights when you cannot even take hold of your own? Can you ever change a culture that views sexual harassment by a man as a woman's crime? Fouzia and a group of female colleagues, who similarly suffered in the workplace, gained the courage to risk their reputations. They filed a joint compliant and promptly found themselves under attack by their managers who aligned with the perpetrator in an effort to crush their case. Working with Sharks follows eleven indestructible women and the case that sparked a national movement and culminated in the passage of legislation that made sexual harassment a crime in Pakistan in 2010. Inspirational and poignant, Working with Sharks encourages women in any part of the world to find their voice and stand up to sexual harassment.

In Responsibility to Protect and Women, Peace and Security: Aligning the Protection Agendas, editors Sara E. Davies, Zim Nwokora, Eli Stamnes and Sarah Teitt address the intersections of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle and the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda. Contributions from policy-makers and academics consider both the merits and the utility of aligning the protection agendas of R2P and WPS. A number of actionable recommendations are made concerning a unification of the agendas to best support the global empowerment of women and the prevention of mass atrocities.

Nancy Gertner launched her legal career by defending antiwar activist Susan Saxe, who was on trial for her role in a robbery that resulted in the murder of a police officer. After this high-profile, highly charged case, Gertner continued to cause a stir in case after riveting case. She threw herself into criminal and civil cases focused on women's rights and civil liberties, establishing herself as a talented and unrepentant advocate for women. Now she looks back on that storied career of groundbreaking firsts and tells of her struggle to succeed personally and professionally while working on benchmark cases.

This book is a step-by-step estate planning guide for gay couples and lesbian couples. There are individual chapters about estate plans for couples with minor children; couples with adult children; and couples without children. If you already have an estate plan, use the book to evaluate if your estate plan is up-to-date or if changes are necessary. Some of the topics included are: wills don't avoid probate; beneficiary designations supersede wills; a power of attorney terminates when you die; always name an alternate power of attorney; estate taxes (updated to include 2013 estate tax law); a properly funded living trust will avoid probate; how to pick an estate planning attorney; and how a living trust differs from living wills. Forms There are no do-it-yourself legal forms, but there are 10 forms and checklists for download (included in the price of the book)which make estate planning comprehensive, efficient and easy. A Personal Note from the Author "Although I've been an estate planning and probate attorney for 30 years, I'm really in the Peace of Mind business. Once you have your affairs in order, you and your partner will have made things as easy as possible for your loved ones and you will achieve peace of mind. But there's an even better reason - when you have your affairs in order, you've also made things as easy as possible for your partner."

This work is a systematic analysis of the subject of disability and society as encountered in institutions of higher learning in Kenya. Experiences of women students with disabilities in Kenyan universities demonstrates that marginalization of people with disabilities is an insidious reality in virtually all societies. Across Africa, dialogue on discrimination against individuals with disability has for a long time been silenced resulting into minimal participation and representation of this population in the political, social, cultural, and economic and development initiatives in the continent. Only a few texts have examined the question of disability and the status of people with disabilities in Africa and more so, with reference to gender and higher education. Filing this gap, this book discusses the experiences of women students with disabilities in university education in Kenya. It analyzes the challenges these women face and how they deal with those challenges. There is evidence of ableim in Kenyan higher education institutions and in the society as a whole. Individuals, government and societal institutions should work together to address ableism and promote an inclusive society.

What others say

Disability is not inability. This cutting edge text reveals that although women students with disabilities in Kenyan universities face numerous challenges, they are determined to succeed. The desire to lead a better life is the glue that gives these women the determination to challenge their subjugated positions in society. This book provides important recommendations for policy, practice and research which Kenya and other African nations can learn from to change things for the better. It is an important and timely read to be enjoyed by everyone. - " Chris Atuti, Toronto, Canada."

This book brings us in touch with the lives of women, and their struggles, so as to inspire the collective need to address disability in more thought provoking ways. Skilfully, Bathseba depicts the complexity of living with disability through her ethnographic account of twenty women students in Kenyan universities. Through this unique research and analysis, the reader comes to know that every experience of disability needs to be understood as a fully social, political, and historical, not to mention valid, way of being-in-the-world. Bathseba has produced a book that is a must read for anyone interested in exploring education as it is interwoven with the meanings of race, gender, class and disability in and through the Kenyan context - " Dr. Tanya Titchkosky Associate Professor, Associate Chair, and Graduate Coordinator, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto."

This book is an outstanding sociological exploration of gender, disability and higher education in the African context. The women's stories come alive in this brilliant and sensitive interpretation of challenges and accomplishments of women students with disabilities in Kenyan universities. By giving voice to those who are rarely heard, Bathseba contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the student experience. - ." Sandra Acker, Professor Emeritus, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto."

About the Author

Bathseba Opini teaches at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education and the African Studies Program, University of Toronto. She is the author of the Children's Book "Africans Thought of It: Amazing Innovations" (with Richard Lee). Her other published works can be found in the " International Journal of Inclusive Education, " the " Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research and the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability."

While feminist legal scholarship has thrived within universities and in some sectors of legal practice, it has yet to have much impact within the judiciary or on judicial thinking. Thus, while feminist legal scholarship has generated comprehensive critiques of existing legal doctrine, there has been little opportunity to test or apply feminist knowledge in practice, in decisions in individual cases. In this book, a group of feminist legal scholars put theory into practice in judgment form, by writing the 'missing' feminist judgments in key cases. The cases chosen are significant decisions in English law across a broad range of substantive areas. The cases originate from a variety of levels but are primarily opinions of the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords. In some instances they are written in a fictitious appeal, but in others they are written as an additional concurring or dissenting judgment in the original case, providing a powerful illustration of the way in which the case could have been decided differently, even at the time it was heard. Each case is accompanied by a commentary which renders the judgment accessible to a non-specialist audience. The commentary explains the original decision, its background and doctrinal significance, the issues it raises, and how the feminist judgment deals with them differently. The books also includes chapters examining the theoretical and conceptual issues raised by the process and practice of feminist judging, and by the judgments themselves, including the possibility of divergent feminist approaches to legal decision-making. From the foreword by Lady Hale 'Reading this book ought to be a chastening experience for any judge who believes himself or herself to be both true to their judicial oath and a neutral observer of the world...If lawyers and judges like me have so much to learn from reading this book, then surely other, more sceptical, lawyers and judges have even more to learn...other scholars, and not only feminists, must also be fascinated by the window it opens onto the process of judicial reasoning: not the straightforward, predetermined march from A to B of popular belief, but something altogether more complicated and uncertain. And anyone will find it a very good read.'