Millbank, J 2021, 'Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in Refugee Claims' in Costello, C, Foster, M & McAdam, J (eds), The Oxford Handbook of International Refugee Law, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 761-777.
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Abstract This chapter explores two key themes in modern refugee jurisprudence concerning sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) claims over the past 35 years. First, there is a persistent, indeed widening, gap between the formal acceptance of SOGI claims in refugee law—broadly taken to include authoritative international guidance, interpretative norms, and binding domestic precedent—and the implementation of such law through the low-level administrative practice that comprises the vast bulk of refugee status determination (RSD). Secondly, although SOGI claims are often considered as marginal or exceptional cases, they should be seen as a key axis from which to understand major developments and failings of refugee law across the board. The chapter then suggests that SOGI claims are a paradigm example of the ontological challenges at the heart of RSD. These include the enduring challenges posed by fact-finding and evidentiary practices such as future-focused risk analysis, credibility assessment, and the interpretation of claims across culture.
Dehm, S & Millbank, J 2021, 'Acusações de Bruxaria Como Perseguição Baseada no Gênero no Direito dos Refugiados', Direito Público, vol. 18, no. 97, pp. 516-550.
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A violência relacionada à bruxaria (VRB), particularmente direcionada a mulheres e crianças, tem se tornado uma fonte de crescente preocupação para organizações de direitos humanos neste século. Contudo, para aqueles que fogem de VRB, tal preocupação não tem se refletido no reconhecimento da condição de refugiado. Esta pesquisa examina como alegações de VRB foram abordadas em todas as decisões de refúgio disponíveis em inglês, oriundas de cinco jurisdições. Argumentamos que VRB é uma manifestação de violência relacionada ao gênero, que expõe graves falhas na aplicação da jurisprudência sobre refúgio. A desatenção aos elementos religiosos e organizacionais de práticas de bruxaria, combinada com uma análise insensível ao gênero, demonstra que as solicitações foram frequentemente reconfiguradas por decisores como rancores pessoais ou disputas familiares ou comunitárias, de forma que elas não foram consideradas ofensas reconhecidas pela Convenção de 1951, ou foram simplesmente desmerecidas e tidas como inverossímeis. A taxa de sucesso das solicitações foi baixa, comparada às médias disponíveis, e, quando bem-sucedidas, as solicitações foram universalmente aceitas sob algum outro fundamento que não fosse o elemento de bruxaria do caso. Este artigo foca particularmente nos casos em que a/o solicitante temia perseguição por ser acusada/o de ser bruxa/o, enquanto um segundo artigo relacionado a este aborda as pessoas temendo perseguição por bruxas/os ou pelo meio de bruxaria.
Kaye, M, Booth, T & Wangmann, J 2021, 'Compromised ‘consent’ in Australian Family Law Proceedings', International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family, vol. 35, no. 1.
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Abstract Most people whose relationships breakdown are able to reach agreement about parenting and financial matters outside the Australian family court system. Even for those parties who commence litigation, the emphasis remains on reaching an agreement with the vast majority of matters being resolved by consent orders rather than judicial determination. Reaching agreement in relation to parenting and property matters is stressful, and this stress is exacerbated once legal proceedings have commenced. Drawing on data from a large study that explored the experiences of self-represented litigants (SRLs) in Australian family law proceedings involving allegations about family violence, this article examines the pressures experienced by female SRLs, who are victims of family violence, to consent to orders. These pressures include: judicial pressure, lawyers’ practices, fear of their former partner, and the financial and emotional costs of litigation. These pressures are significant and can impede the extent to which these agreements can be viewed as consensual. Participants reported that these significant and intersecting pressures resulted in them ‘agreeing’ to orders that they saw as unsafe, or financial orders that were less than they were entitled to. Whilst these orders are subject to judicial scrutiny; this study raises questions about the quality and utility of resultant consent orders.
Stuhmcke, A 2021, 'Reflections on autonomy in travel for cross border reproductive care', Monash Bioethics Review, vol. 39, no. 1, pp. 1-27.
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Travel for reproductive health care has become a widespread global phenomenon. Within the field, the decision to travel to seek third parties to assist with reproduction is widely assumed to be autonomous. However there has been scant research exploring the application of the principle of autonomy to the experience of the cross-border traveller. Seeking to contribute to the growing, but still small, body of sociological bioethics research, this paper maps the application of the ethical principle of autonomy to the lived experience of infertile individuals who cross borders for reproductive care. It examines their choices as patient, consumer and traveller. It suggests that their experience evidences a contradictory autonomy, which offers them both choice and no choice in their final decision to travel. The paper argues that this lack of meaningful autonomy is enabled by a medicalised framework of infertility which prioritises technology as the cure to infertility. This both shapes expectations of infertile individuals and limits their options of family creation. Ultimately, the paper suggests that sociological bioethics research shows that the liberatory credentials of technology should be questioned, and identifies that this field demands greater scholarly attention.
Stuhmcke, A 2021, 'Reframing the Australian Medico-Legal Model of Infertility', Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, vol. 18, no. 2, pp. 305-317.
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