scholarly journals Can Law Address Intersectional Sexual Harassment? The Case of Claimants with Personality Disorders

Laws ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Personality Disorders ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Feminist Perspective ◽  
Prevalence Rates ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
The Law

Sexual harassment across multiple grounds, including race, disability, sexuality and age, remains an entrenched problem that is poorly dealt with in law. Prevalence rates for intersectional sexual harassment are higher for certain groups, while legal redress is low. This paper examines case law on sexual harassment in Australia where there are intersectional factors and asks whether the “intersectionality” section inserted into the federal Sex Discrimination Act in 2011 has impacted legal practice and decision-making. In particular, it considers the situation of sexual harassment claimants with behavioural and personality traits that are considered “disordered” and the specifically gendered disability stereotypes that shape their treatment in law. Recent cases in Australia dealing with the sexual harassment of people with personality disorders show that intersectionality provisions of sexual harassment laws may in fact be used to undermine a legal claim by a person with disability rather than strengthen it. This article argues that an intersectional legal feminist perspective on harassment is needed for the law to work.

A reasonable woman standard in sexual harassment litigation

Legal Studies ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 552-579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giorgio Monti
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
Tort Law ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Feminist Perspective ◽  
Corrective Justice ◽  
Reasonable Woman Standard ◽  
Gender Specific

Sexual harassment litigation may be thwarted by judges failing to address the acts in question from the perspective of the victim, thus legitimising behaviour acceptable to men but unacceptable to women. This paper shows how this problem may be overcome by adopting a ‘reasonable woman’ standard to decide if: (i) objectively, the acts in question constitute harassment; and (ii) subjectively, whether the victim suffered injury. Using US case law the paper shows how the reasonable woman standard, which has been accepted in some courts, can allow women's perspectives to be heard. The paper suggests that a reasonable woman standard should be adopted in UK tort law, specifically in litigation under the Sex Discrimination Act, but also for litigation under trespass torts and under the Protection from Harassment Act. Doctrinally, the proposed standard fits within the fabric of tort la; and does not challenge the principle of corrective justice. From a feminist perspective, the reasonable woman standard can successfully redirect tort law to address gender-specific harms.

scholarly journals A tale of two citizens: The Brey-Dano proportionality gap in UK courts and tribunals

2021 ◽  
pp. 138826272110049
Author(s):  
Victoria E. Hooton
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
National Level ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Eu Law ◽  
The Law

The role of proportionality and individual assessments in EU residency and welfare access cases has changed significantly over the course of the last decade. This article demonstrates how a search for certainty and efficiency in this area of EU law has created greater uncertainty, more legal hurdles for citizens, and less consistency in decision-making at the national level. UK case law illustrates the difficulty faced by national authorities when interpreting and applying the rules relating to welfare access and proportionality. Ultimately, the law lacks the consistency and transparency that recent CJEU case law seeks to obtain, raising the question of whether the shift from the Court's previous, more flexible, case-by-case approach was desirable after all.

Una compraventa poética, Horacio, Epistola 2.2

2017 ◽  
Vol 85 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 79-114
Author(s):  
Consuelo Carrasco García
Keyword(s):  
Case Law ◽  
First Century ◽  
Legal Practice ◽  
Title 1 ◽  
Public Markets ◽  
The Public ◽  
Roman Society ◽  
The Will ◽  
The Law ◽  
Poetic Composition

A poetic sale. Horace, Epistula 2.2.
Starting from the analysis of a poem by Horace, I have tried to highlight the image of the Law that was held by Roman society in the first century BC, that is, both by the poet and by the public that he wanted to entertain with his works. He chose a legal topic as the theme of his narrative – the responsibility for hidden defects in the contract of sale –; he applied the Roman legal lexicon with total precision and, more specifically, he showed that he was aware of the debate about the case-law related to the Edict by which the magistrates regulated the sale of slaves in the public markets. This is apparent from a comparison of the poem with book 21, title 1 of Justinian’s Digest concerning the Edict of the curule aediles and with documents from legal practice (testatio) that record the agreement of the will of the parties. A study of this kind, moreover, also contributes to a better understanding of poetic composition.


scholarly journals Negotiating Respect: Sexual Harassment and the Law in Hong Kong

2005 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 127-168
Author(s):  
Carole J. Petersen
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Chinese Women ◽  
Current Model ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
Public Hearing ◽  
Power Imbalance ◽  
Equal Opportunities ◽  
Statutory Duty ◽  
Systemic Impact ◽  
The Law

This article critiques the sexual harassment provisions of Hong Kong's Sex Discrimination Ordinance , as well as the enforcement model. Although the judiciary has had some opportunity to interpret the Ordinance, most complaints never reach the courts because the Equal Opportunities Commission has a statutory duty to attempt to conciliate a complaint before granting legal assistance. When the Ordinance was enacted it was widely assumed that Chinese women would prefer confidential conciliation to a public hearing. However, interviews with past complainants and representatives of women's organizations reveal that many complainants find conciliation conferences to be extremely stressful. They also feel demeaned and disempowered by what is effectively an obligation to negotiate with the respondent. The author concludes that the current model exacerbates the power imbalance between complainants and respondents and limits the systemic impact of the law. She argues that an informal and inexpensive Equal Opportunities Tribunal should be created. This would allow those complainants who are willing to try their complaints to proceed directly to a hearing, without any obligation to first participate in conciliation.

The Role Played by External Case Law in Promoting the Legitimacy of International Criminal Court Decisions

2018 ◽  
Vol 87 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-211
Author(s):  
Joanna Nicholson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Criminal Court ◽  
International Criminal ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Criminal Court ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Criminal Courts ◽  
Procedural Law ◽  
The Law

International criminal courts and tribunals (ICTs) often refer to jurisprudence from other ICTs when reaching a decision. This can help increase the legitimacy of their decision-making. This article focuses on the International Criminal Court (ICC) and examines when the ICC may refer to the decisions from other courts; when it in fact does so; when it has chosen to deviate from the decisions of other ICTs; and how this has affected the legitimacy of its decisions. The ICC has generally been mindful in its approach towards referring to jurisprudence from other ICTs, but has not been afraid to deviate from it on occasion in decisions concerning both substantive and procedural law. The article argues that where possible the Court should interpret the law in line with other ICTs’ decisions. This will help increase the legitimacy both of the Court’s own decisions and the field of ICL as a whole.

scholarly journals The Unmeritorious ‘Legality’/‘Merits’ Distinction in Singapore Administrative Law

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Benjamin Joshua Ong
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
General Principle ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Rough Approximation ◽  
Executive Decision Making ◽  
The Law

Abstract The Singapore courts often state that judicial review of executive decision-making ought only to involve an inquiry into the ‘legality’ of a decision or the ‘decision-making process’, and not the ‘decision itself’ or its ‘merits’ – let us call this the ‘Distinction’. This article argues that the Distinction should be expunged from Singapore law. The Distinction has its roots in English case law which aimed to prevent the courts from arbitrarily substituting their decision for the executive's by reason of mere disagreement. But Singapore case law has gone further and treated the Distinction as a general principle applicable to all of administrative law. However, the Distinction is too vague for this purpose (as seen from Singapore cases which have interpreted the distinction inconsistently). It is conceptually problematic, incompatible with the practicalities of judicial review (particularly substantive review as recognised in Singapore law), and has occasionally been paid lip service but not followed in substance. The Distinction cannot form a coherent principle to guide the courts and ought to be replaced by a more nuanced application of constitutional principles relevant to determining the appropriate scope of review. Whatever these principles may be, and however they are to be balanced, the Distinction can be but an over-inclusive rough approximation of them which hampers the development of the law.

Rethinking Richardson: Sexual Harassment Damages in the #MeToo Era

2021 ◽  
pp. 0067205X2199314
Author(s):  
Madeleine Castles ◽  
Tom Hvala ◽  
Kieran Pender
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Harassment ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
Economic Loss ◽  
Case Law ◽  
Seismic Effect ◽  
Societal Norms ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Judicial Recognition ◽  
General Range

The 2014 judgment in Richardson v Oracle Corporation Australia Pty Ltd (‘ Richardson’) had a seismic effect on workplace sexual harassment claims in Australia. Overnight, the ‘general range’ of damages awarded for non-economic loss in such cases increased from between $12 000 and $20 000 to $100 000 and above. The judgment has made Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth) litigation considerably more attractive for plaintiffs and resulted in greater judicial recognition of the pain and suffering experienced by sexual harassment survivors. Richardson’s impact has also been felt beyond that immediate context, with the judgment cited in support of higher damages in discrimination cases and employment disputes. However, six years and over 40 judicial citations later, Richardson’s broader significance remains unclear—particularly following the emergence of the #MeToo movement. Drawing on a doctrinal analysis of subsequent case law and qualitative interviews with prominent Australian legal practitioners, this article evaluates Richardson’s legacy and considers how sexual harassment litigation may further evolve to reflect changing societal norms.

scholarly journals Sex Discrimination in Schools: The Law and Its Impact on School Policies

Laws ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 34
Author(s):  
Suzanne Eckes
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Sex Discrimination ◽  
Case Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
Student Rights ◽  
Court Cases ◽  
School Environments ◽  
Single Sex ◽  
Legal Context ◽  
The Law

The law has the potential to influence school policy in the United States. Specifically, statutes, constitutional provisions, and the outcomes of court cases can impact the civil rights of students, which, in turn, can presumably lead to policies that prohibit discriminatory practices. For example, Congress has enacted federal laws (statutes) that prohibit discrimination based on race, sex, and disability; these laws arguably impact school practice. After setting the legal context, through an analysis of statutes, constitutional provisions and case law, this article examines how law has the potential to influence education policy related to sex discrimination. In doing so, a few illustrative cases related to sexual harassment, single-sex programs, pregnant and parenting teens, dress codes, transgender student rights, and athletics are discussed to provide examples about how case outcomes may help create more equitable school environments.

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