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Pandora's Box PANDORA'S BOX 2000 Editors Kate Deere Megan Hirst Suzanne Marlow Printed by: Willpri nt 28 Burke St, Woolloongabba Brisbane, Australia A publication of the: WOMEN AND THE LAW SOCIETY TC Beirne School of Law University of Queensland, St Lucia, 4072 Ph: (07) 3365 7997 1 Contents Foreword ............................................ .................................................. 2 Editor's Note ............ .................................................................. .......... 3 Progress in the Status of Women: Internationally and in Australia Susan Halliday and Sabina Lauber. .......... ......................................... .4 Natasha Stott Despoja ............ ............................................................ 20 Marilyn Lake ......... ....... .............. ........................................ ............... 27 Inter-CountryAdo ption Susanna Lobez ...................................... ............................................ 39 Rape Sarah Mccosker .......................... .......... .................... ............. ........... 4 7 Annie Coss ins ..... .......... ........................ .................................. ........... 80 Indigenous Family Violence Hannah McGlade .. ........................................................................... 86 Prostitution Belinda Carpenter .................................. ................. ........... ........... .. 104 WATL and Blake Dawson Waldron Paper Competition - Finalists' Abstracts Cubby Fox .... .................................... ................... ........ ... .................. 116 Johanna Gibson .................... ............................................................ 117 Nicky Jones ................... ........................ ........................... ....... ......... 117 Helen McEniery ............................................ .................................. 118 Suzanne Marlow ..... .................... ..................................................... 119 2 Foreword I have attended a number of the annual breakfastsorgan ised by WAT L and been impressed by the vitality of the members and the ability of WAT L to generate wider interest in its activities than its natural membership base at the TC Beirne School of Law at the University of Queensland. The annual publication of "Pandora's Box" is another means by which WATL achieves its objects. "Pandora's Box" publishes articles which may focus on issues particularly affecting women, but are truly of general interest to the legal professionand the wider community - or should be. I congratulate the editors of "Pandora's Box" in bringing together a collection of articles in this year's publication which are not only of current interest, but will serve as a valuable resource in future years for evaluating progress made in those issues. The Honourable Justice Debra Mullins Supreme Court of Queensland 3 Editor's Note Violence, rape and prostitution ... The cheery WATL symbol adorning the front cover belies the darkness of some of the issues discussed in Pandora s Box 2000. Heavy reading it may be at times but, we believe, worthwhile reading. This year Pandora s assembles a wide variety of styles from authors with some very different backgrounds. We have also included forthe first time, not only the winning entry from the WATL Blake Dawson Waldron student paper competition, but also abstracts from the other entries in recognition of the scholarship displayed in the quality of entries received. We would like to thank the tireless executive of WATL who provided constant support and guidance, and to extend our gratitude also to those who took the time to contribute and lend their perspective to Pandora s Box. Emerging from their efforts is a journal which serves as a thought­ provoking reminder that "women's issues" are far from dead issues, and also a weighty tome to throw at anyone who suggests that an organisation called "Women and the Law" is anachronistic in the year 2000! So, be challenged, be engaged, be informed, be enraged ... Enjoy Pandora's Box 2000! Kate Deere Megan Hirst Suzanne Marlow 4 Beijing Plus Five views from the negotiating rooms. Susan Halliday* and Sabina Laubertt Introduction "l s there anyone who is in favour of rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy or sterilisation? Does anyone support their use as weapons of war? If not, why should there still be brackets round these paragraphs on the last day of these negotiations? ... Excuse me ifl am na"ive - but I am frankly baffled by the inability to reach agreement on this language among countries which I know support all these measures and proposals - countries which are themselves taking action to implement them."1 These words, delivered by Dr Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund, on the last day of the Beijing Plus Five Special Session, summed up the frustrations of over 4,000 government and non-government delegates attending the event. On the last afternoon when the General Assembly should have been adopting the outcomes of the Special Session, delegates were still entrenched in the difficult and protracted negotiations that had marked the Beijing Plus Five review process. Not until the morning afterthe close of the Special Session, was a final document agreed to. Negotiations had gone through the last day, Friday 9 June 2000, into the night and concluded at Sam on Saturday. A weary but colourful tribe of delegates poured out of the United Nations building as the sun rose and clambered into bed for a few hours sleep beforea specially convened General Assembly adopted the Outcomes Document. * Federal Sex Discrimination Commissioner t Director (Ng), Sex Discrimination Unit, Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission t Commissioner Halliday and Ms Lauber attended the Beijing Plus Five Special Session as independent advisers to the Australian Delegation. Ms Lauber also attended the PrepCom as an adviser to the Australian Delegation. I Statement by Dr Nafis Sadik, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund to the Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the Fourth World conferenceon Women, United Nations, New York, 9 June 2000. Available on www.un.org/ga/webcast/statements 5 The United Nations General Assembly Special Session was formally called Wo men 2000: Gender, Equality, Development and Peace in the 21st Century. It was convened to review the progress achieved in the fi ve years since the adoption of the Platformfo r Action in Beijing in 1995 (BPFA), hence the unofficial, yet widely used title "Beijing Plus Five". There were a number of advances in women's rights made at Beijing Plus Five, despite disturbing pressures from several delegations to backtrack on previously agreed standards. However, the gains were hard fought and the missed opportunities and losses were at times devastating. Overall the process was chaotic and there is no doubt that some government delegations would have returned to their capitals and heavily criticised the United Nations' system. This article seeks to evaluate the Beijing Plus Five conference by recognising it as part of the broader international process of human rights standard setting. This process suffers from inevitable limitations born of vast differences between governments, political systems and cultural priorities. It is questionable whether these limitations can ever be transcended. Despite these challenges, the traditional tools of international law, such as diplomacy, shame and consensus, can be strategically used, as they so aptly were at the Beijing Plus Five conference, to produce valuable outcomes for women. This article examines the gains made and losses endured during the negotiations, as well as the significant contribution that delegate interaction made to the process. In addition, the consistent lobbying and involvement of non-governmental organisations will be reviewed in order to reflect the vital contribution they made. The article then moves on to brieflyexam ine the limitations of international processes in setting standards for the rights of women. Having accepted the limitations and taken on board the realities of unique global meetings such as this, it is argued that women can and have effe ctively utilised such a process to bring about real change. Background The original 1995 Beijing Conference was one of the largest global conferences ever held. Some 17,OOO participants attended including 6,000 delegates from 189 countries, over 4,000 representatives of 6 accredited non-governmental organisations, a host of national civil servants and 4,000 media representatives. More than 30,000 people also participated in the NGO Forum that was run simultaneously. There is no doubt that this extraordinary presence at the Beijing Conference played a significant role in bringing about the gains in the BPFA. The BPFA obliged governments to look at twelve Critical Areas of Concern as priorities for action: 1. Women and poverty 2. Women and education and training 3. Women and health 4. Violence against women 5. Women and armed conflict 6. Women and the economy 7. Women in power and decision-making 8. Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women 9. Human rights of women 10. Women and media 11. Women and environment 12. The girl-child In several of these areas, the BPFA introduced new text into the international arena, thereby creating new global standards for women. In particular, the text pertaining to violence against women was seen as a valuable
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