DOCSLIB.ORG

The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND QUEER DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2008 A Report From THE NATIONAL COALITION OF ANTI-VIOLENCE PROGRAMS Inside: Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence statistics in LGBTQ communities Stories from survivors Impacts of anti-LGBTQ bias: Barriers to safety and services Recommendations for policy and practice Local information and trends 2009 Release Edition LGBTQ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN 2008 The production of this report was coordinated by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs 240 West 35th Street, Suite 200 New York, NY 10001 | www.ncavp.org Contributing Authors Kim Fountain, Ph.D., Deputy Director New York City Anti-Violence Project Maryse Mitchell-Brody, MSW, Statewide & National Programs Coordinator New York City Anti-Violence Project Stephanie A. Jones, J.D., LL.M., M.P.H., Consultant LA Gay and Lesbian Center Kaitlin Nichols, Director of Organizing & Education The Network/LaRed Additional Writing and Data by Graham Barnes, The Battered Women‟s Justice Project Joseph Barretto, The New York City Anti-Violence Project Kelly Baumgartner, Gay Alliance of the Genessee Valley Meighan Bentz, The Anti-Violence Project at the Milwaukee LGBT Center Ivana Chapcakova, New York City Anti-Violence Project Kelly Clark, MA, Gay Alliance of the Genessee Valley Loree Cook-Daniels, FORGE Transgender Sexual Violence Project Kelcie Cooke, LICSW, The Violence Recovery Program at Fenway Community Health Kelly Costello, Colorado Anti-Violence Program Lisa Gilmore, Center on Halsted Anti-Violence Project Gary Heath, Buckeye Region Anti-Violence Organization Susan Holt, M.A., CDVC, LA Gay and Lesbian Center Sally A. Huffer, Montrose Counseling Center Lindsey Moore, Kansas City Anti-Violence Project Ann Robinson, Safe Space @ RU 12 Community Center Sabrina Santiago, The Network/La Red Terra Slavin, Esq., DVLAP, LA Gay and Lesbian Community Center Kristin Tucker, Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse Shawna Virago, Community United Against Violence Rebecca Waggoner-Kloek, OutFront Minnesota Original Graphic Design: David Smoak Illustration based on designs by: Arch Garland 2 0 0 9 R E L E A S E E D I T I O N Copyright © 2009, National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, LGBTQ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN 2008 TABLE of CONTENTS NCAVP Mission Statement.................................................................................................................................................................1 Executive Summary...............................................................................................................................................................................2 Recommendations in Brief................................................................................................................4 Introduction............................................................................................................................................................................................5 Defining Intimate Partner Violence in LGBTQ Communities ...................................................................................................9 Domestic Violence or Intimate Partner Violence? Towards A Common Definition.........9 Intimate Partner Violence 101.......................................................................................................11 Selected Intimate Partner Violence Narratives............................................................................................................................10 Impacts of Anti-LGBTQ Bias on Survivors, Communities and Systems ...............................................................................14 2008 Report Findings and Discussion ...........................................................................................................................................19 Survivor Information Gender.................................................................................................................................................20 Sexual Orientation............................................................................................................................21 Age........................................................................................................................................................22 Race/Ethnicity.....................................................................................................................................23 Immigration Status............................................................................................................................24 Disabilities...........................................................................................................................................25 Police Involvement............................................................................................................................26 Domestic Violence-Related Fatalities Findings and Discussion...................................................................................................................26 Selected Domestic Violence-Related Fatality Narratives........................................................27 Limitations of the Report...............................................................................................................29 Recommendations.............................................................................................................................................................................31 . Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................................................................36 References...........................................................................................................................................................................................36 Selected Local Summaries and Trends, by Region.....................................................................................................................39 Pacific Coast Seattle, WA (NW Network of BTLG Survivors of Abuse)....................................................................................39 San Francisco, CA (CUAV & AWS)..............................................................................................................................41 Los Angeles, CA (LA Gay & Lesbian Center).............................................................................................................44 West Denver, CO (Colorado AVP)........................................................................................................................................51 Houston, TX (Montrose Counseling Center)............................................................................................................54 Midwest Minneapolis, MN (OutFront MN))................................................................................................................................55 Milwaukee, WI (Milwaukee LGBT Center).................................................................................................................58 Kansas City, MO (Kansas City AVP))...........................................................................................................................60 Chicago, IL (Center on Halsted AVP)..........................................................................................................................62 Columbus, OH (BRAVO)...............................................................................................................................................64 Northeast Boston, MA (The Violence Recovery Program at Fenway & The Network/La Red).......................................66 New York, NY (New York City Anti-Violence Project).........................................................................................71 Rochester, NY (Gay Alliance of the Gennessee Valley)...........................................................................,..............76 Burlington, VT (Safe Space @ RU12 Community Center).....................................................................................78 Appendix A: NCAVP Members by State.....................................................................................................................................I Appendix B: LGBTIQ Partner Abuse (The Network/La Red)................................................................................................II Appendix C: Interagency Response to Domestic Violence Cases (Battered Women‟s Justice Network)..................V PAGE 1 LGBTQ DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN 2008 NATIONAL COALITION OF ANTI-VIOLENCE PROGRAMS MISSION STATEMENT The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP) addresses the pervasive problem of violence committed against and within lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) and HIV-positive communities. NCAVP is a collaboration of grassroots organizations working together to document incidents of violence against our communities and to advocate for victims of anti-LGBTQ and anti-HIV/AIDS violence/harassment, intimate partner violence, sexual assault, police misconduct, and other forms of vio- lence. NCAVP is dedicated to creating a collective national response to the vio- lence plaguing our communities. NCAVP supports existing anti-violence organizations and emerging local programs in their efforts to document, respond to,
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Power Seeking and Backlash Against Female Politicians
    Article Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin The Price of Power: Power Seeking and 36(7) 923 –936 © 2010 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc Backlash Against Female Politicians Reprints and permission: sagepub.com/journalsPermissions.nav DOI: 10.1177/0146167210371949 http://pspb.sagepub.com Tyler G. Okimoto1 and Victoria L. Brescoll1 Abstract Two experimental studies examined the effect of power-seeking intentions on backlash toward women in political office. It was hypothesized that a female politician’s career progress may be hindered by the belief that she seeks power, as this desire may violate prescribed communal expectations for women and thereby elicit interpersonal penalties. Results suggested that voting preferences for female candidates were negatively influenced by her power-seeking intentions (actual or perceived) but that preferences for male candidates were unaffected by power-seeking intentions. These differential reactions were partly explained by the perceived lack of communality implied by women’s power-seeking intentions, resulting in lower perceived competence and feelings of moral outrage. The presence of moral-emotional reactions suggests that backlash arises from the violation of communal prescriptions rather than normative deviations more generally. These findings illuminate one potential source of gender bias in politics. Keywords gender stereotypes, backlash, power, politics, intention, moral outrage Received June 5, 2009; revision accepted December 2, 2009 Many voters see Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as coldly politicians and that these penalties may be reflected in voting ambitious, a perception that could ultimately doom her presi- preferences. dential campaign. Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times, 2007 Power-Relevant Stereotypes Power seeking may be incongruent with traditional female In 1916, Jeannette Rankin was elected to the Montana seat in gender stereotypes but not male gender stereotypes for a the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Cancel Culture: Posthuman Hauntologies in Digital Rhetoric and the Latent Values of Virtual Community Networks
    CANCEL CULTURE: POSTHUMAN HAUNTOLOGIES IN DIGITAL RHETORIC AND THE LATENT VALUES OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITY NETWORKS By Austin Michael Hooks Heather Palmer Rik Hunter Associate Professor of English Associate Professor of English (Chair) (Committee Member) Matthew Guy Associate Professor of English (Committee Member) CANCEL CULTURE: POSTHUMAN HAUNTOLOGIES IN DIGITAL RHETORIC AND THE LATENT VALUES OF VIRTUAL COMMUNITY NETWORKS By Austin Michael Hooks A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements of the Degree of Master of English The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee August 2020 ii Copyright © 2020 By Austin Michael Hooks All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT This study explores how modern epideictic practices enact latent community values by analyzing modern call-out culture, a form of public shaming that aims to hold individuals responsible for perceived politically incorrect behavior via social media, and cancel culture, a boycott of such behavior and a variant of call-out culture. As a result, this thesis is mainly concerned with the capacity of words, iterated within the archive of social media, to haunt us— both culturally and informatically. Through hauntology, this study hopes to understand a modern discourse community that is bound by an epideictic framework that specializes in the deconstruction of the individual’s ethos via the constant demonization and incitement of past, current, and possible social media expressions. The primary goal of this study is to understand how these practices function within a capitalistic framework and mirror the performativity of capital by reducing affective human interactions to that of a transaction.
    [Show full text]
  • The Evolution of Feminist and Institutional Activism Against Sexual Violence
    Bethany Gen In the Shadow of the Carceral State: The Evolution of Feminist and Institutional Activism Against Sexual Violence Bethany Gen Honors Thesis in Politics Advisor: David Forrest Readers: Kristina Mani and Cortney Smith Oberlin College Spring 2021 Gen 2 “It is not possible to accurately assess the risks of engaging with the state on a specific issue like violence against women without fully appreciating the larger processes that created this particular state and the particular social movements swirling around it. In short, the state and social movements need to be institutionally and historically demystified. Failure to do so means that feminists and others will misjudge what the costs of engaging with the state are for women in particular, and for society more broadly, in the shadow of the carceral state.” Marie Gottschalk, The Prison and the Gallows: The Politics of Mass Incarceration in America, p. 164 ~ Acknowledgements A huge thank you to my advisor, David Forrest, whose interest, support, and feedback was invaluable. Thank you to my readers, Kristina Mani and Cortney Smith, for their time and commitment. Thank you to Xander Kott for countless weekly meetings, as well as to the other members of the Politics Honors seminar, Hannah Scholl, Gideon Leek, Cameron Avery, Marah Ajilat, for your thoughtful feedback and camaraderie. Thank you to Michael Parkin for leading the seminar and providing helpful feedback and practical advice. Thank you to my roommates, Sarah Edwards, Zoe Guiney, and Lucy Fredell, for being the best people to be quarantined with amidst a global pandemic. Thank you to Leo Ross for providing the initial inspiration and encouragement for me to begin this journey, almost two years ago.
    [Show full text]
  • Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media
    Henry Jenkins Convergence Culture Where Old and New Media Collide n New York University Press • NewYork and London Skenovano pro studijni ucely NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York and London www.nyupress. org © 2006 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jenkins, Henry, 1958- Convergence culture : where old and new media collide / Henry Jenkins, p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-8147-4281-5 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Mass media and culture—United States. 2. Popular culture—United States. I. Title. P94.65.U6J46 2006 302.230973—dc22 2006007358 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Manufactured in the United States of America c 15 14 13 12 11 p 10 987654321 Skenovano pro studijni ucely Contents Acknowledgments vii Introduction: "Worship at the Altar of Convergence": A New Paradigm for Understanding Media Change 1 1 Spoiling Survivor: The Anatomy of a Knowledge Community 25 2 Buying into American Idol: How We are Being Sold on Reality TV 59 3 Searching for the Origami Unicorn: The Matrix and Transmedia Storytelling 93 4 Quentin Tarantino's Star Wars? Grassroots Creativity Meets the Media Industry 131 5 Why Heather Can Write: Media Literacy and the Harry Potter Wars 169 6 Photoshop for Democracy: The New Relationship between Politics and Popular Culture 206 Conclusion: Democratizing Television? The Politics of Participation 240 Notes 261 Glossary 279 Index 295 About the Author 308 V Skenovano pro studijni ucely Acknowledgments Writing this book has been an epic journey, helped along by many hands.
    [Show full text]
  • Modification of the Backlash Avoidance Model
    STATUS AS A BUFFER TO THE CONSEQUENCES OF BACKLASH FEAR: MODIFICATION OF THE BACKLASH AVOIDANCE MODEL By SARA K. MANUEL A dissertation submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Graduate Program in Psychology Written under the direction of Laurie A. Rudman And approved by _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ _____________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Status as a buffer to the consequences of backlash fear: Modification of the backlash avoidance model by SARA K. MANUEL Dissertation Director: Laurie A. Rudman Despite advances toward equality, stereotypes still restrict the roles of individuals within society. Violation of these stereotypes results in backlash, in the form of social and financial penalties (Rudman, 1998), serving to discourage vanguards. Women specifically risk backlash for demonstrating agency, and in an effort to avoid this backlash, may mitigate their agentic expressions, compromising performance (Rudman, Moss-Racusin, Glick, & Phelan, 2012). The Backlash Avoidance Model (BAM; Moss- Racusin & Rudman, 2010) identifies low perceived entitlement as the mechanism through which backlash fear influences performance. Yet, with the rise of many prominent women in traditionally atypical domains, how do some women effectively express agency and attain success? I hypothesized that status—a perceived performance advantage (Fişek, Berger, & Norman, 2005)—protects women’s perceived entitlement, resulting in optimal performance on tasks requiring agency. This dissertation introduced the Modified-BAM (M-BAM), which incorporates the role of status in women’s backlash ii avoidance strategies to account for initial differences in perceived entitlement that allow some women to perform agentic tasks without disruption from fear of backlash.
    [Show full text]
  • A Cultural Analysis of a Physicist ''Trio'' Supporting the Backlash Against
    ARTICLE IN PRESS Global Environmental Change 18 (2008) 204–219 www.elsevier.com/locate/gloenvcha Experiences of modernity in the greenhouse: A cultural analysis of a physicist ‘‘trio’’ supporting the backlash against global warming Myanna Lahsenà Center for Science and Technology Policy Research, University of Colorado and Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Epaciais (INPE), Av. dos Astronautas, 1758, Sa˜o Jose´ dos Campos, SP 12227-010 Brazil Received 18 March 2007; received in revised form 5 October 2007; accepted 29 October 2007 Abstract This paper identifies cultural and historical dimensions that structure US climate science politics. It explores why a key subset of scientists—the physicist founders and leaders of the influential George C. Marshall Institute—chose to lend their scientific authority to this movement which continues to powerfully shape US climate policy. The paper suggests that these physicists joined the environmental backlash to stem changing tides in science and society, and to defend their preferred understandings of science, modernity, and of themselves as a physicist elite—understandings challenged by on-going transformations encapsulated by the widespread concern about human-induced climate change. r 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Anti-environmental movement; Human dimensions research; Climate change; Controversy; United States; George C. Marshall Institute 1. Introduction change itself, what he termed a ‘‘strong theory of culture.’’ Arguing that the essential role of science in our present age Human Dimensions Research in the area of global only can be fully understood through examination of environmental change tends to integrate a limited con- individuals’ relationships with each other and with ‘‘mean- ceptualization of culture.
    [Show full text]
  • Pro Wrestling Over -Sell
    TTHHEE PPRROO WWRREESSTTLLIINNGG OOVVEERR--SSEELLLL™ a newsletter for those who want more Issue #1 Monthly Pro Wrestling Editorials & Analysis April 2011 For the 27th time... An in-depth look at WrestleMania XXVII Monthly Top of the card Underscore It's that time of year when we anything is responsible for getting Eddie Edwards captures ROH World begin to talk about the forthcoming WrestleMania past one million buys, WrestleMania, an event that is never it's going to be a combination of Tile in a shocker─ the story that makes the short of talking points. We speculate things. Maybe it'll be the appearances title change significant where it will rank on a long, storied list of stars from the Attitude Era of of highs and lows. We wonder what will wrestling mixed in with the newly Shocking, unexpected surprises seem happen on the show itself and gossip established stars that generate the to come few and far between, especially in the about our own ideas and theories. The need to see the pay-per-view. Perhaps year 2011. One of those moments happened on road to WreslteMania 27 has been a that selling point is the man that lit March 19 in the Manhattan Center of New York bumpy one filled with both anticipation the WrestleMania fire, The Rock. City. Eddie Edwards became the fifteenth Ring and discontent, elements that make the ─ So what match should go on of Honor World Champion after defeating April 3 spectacular in Atlanta one of the last? Oddly enough, that's a question Roderick Strong in what was described as an more newsworthy stories of the year.
    [Show full text]
  • The Effect of School Closure On
    Public Gaming: eSport and Event Marketing in the Experience Economy by Michael Borowy B.A., University of British Columbia, 2008 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the School of Communication Faculty of Communication, Art, and Technology Michael Borowy 2012 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2012 All rights reserved. However, in accordance with the Copyright Act of Canada, this work may be reproduced, without authorization, under the conditions for “Fair Dealing.” Therefore, limited reproduction of this work for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review and news reporting is likely to be in accordance with the law, particularly if cited appropriately. Approval Name: Michael Borowy Degree: Master of Arts (Communication) Title of Thesis: Public Gaming: eSport and Event Marketing in the Experience Economy Examining Committee: Chair: David Murphy, Senior Lecturer Dr. Stephen Kline Senior Supervisor Professor Dr. Dal Yong Jin Supervisor Associate Professor Dr. Richard Smith Internal Examiner Professor Date Defended/Approved: July 06, 2012 ii Partial Copyright Licence iii STATEMENT OF ETHICS APPROVAL The author, whose name appears on the title page of this work, has obtained, for the research described in this work, either: (a) Human research ethics approval from the Simon Fraser University Office of Research Ethics, or (b) Advance approval of the animal care protocol from the University Animal Care Committee of Simon Fraser University; or has conducted the research (c) as a co-investigator, collaborator or research assistant in a research project approved in advance, or (d) as a member of a course approved in advance for minimal risk human research, by the Office of Research Ethics.
    [Show full text]
  • An Evidence-Based Review of Sexual Assault Prevention Intervention
    The author(s) shown below used Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice and prepared the following final report: Document Title: An Evidence-Based Review of Sexual Assault Preventive Intervention Programs Author(s): Shannon Morrison, Jennifer Hardison, Anita Mathew, Joyce O’Neil Document No.: 207262 Date Received: October 2004 Award Number: 2002-WG-BX-0006 This report has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. To provide better customer service, NCJRS has made this Federally- funded grant final report available electronically in addition to traditional paper copies. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. September 2004 An Evidence-Based Review of Sexual Assault Preventive Intervention Programs Technical Report Prepared for National Institute of Justice 810 Seventh Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20531 Prepared by Shannon Morrison, Ph.D. Jennifer Hardison, M.S.W. Anita Mathew, M.P.H. Joyce O’Neil, M.A. RTI International Health, Social, and Economics Research Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 NIJ Grant Number: 2002-WG-BX-0006 This document is a research report submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice. This report has not been published by the Department.
    [Show full text]
  • Backlash in Gender Equality and Women's and Girls' Rights
    STUDY Requested by the FEMM committee Backlash in Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Rights WOMEN’S RIGHTS & GENDER EQUALITY Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs Directorate General for Internal Policies of the Union PE 604.955– June 2018 EN Backlash in Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Rights STUDY Abstract This study, commissioned by the European Parliament’s Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs at the request of the FEMM Committee, is designed to identify in which fields and by which means the backlash in gender equality and women’s and girls’ rights in six countries (Austria, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia) is occurring. The backlash, which has been happening over the last several years, has decreased the level of protection of women and girls and reduced access to their rights. ABOUT THE PUBLICATION This research paper was requested by the European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality and commissioned, overseen and published by the Policy Department for Citizen's Rights and Constitutional Affairs. Policy Departments provide independent expertise, both in-house and externally, to support European Parliament committees and other parliamentary bodies in shaping legislation and exercising democratic scrutiny over EU external and internal policies. To contact the Policy Department for Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs or to subscribe to its newsletter please write to: [email protected] RESPONSIBLE RESEARCH ADMINISTRATOR Martina SCHONARD Policy Department for Citizens' Rights and Constitutional Affairs European Parliament B-1047 Brussels E-mail: [email protected] AUTHORS Borbála JUHÁSZ, indipendent expert to EIGE dr.
    [Show full text]
  • Backlash Or Widening the Gap?: Women’S Reproductive Rights in the Twenty-First Century
    laws Article Backlash or Widening the Gap?: Women’s Reproductive Rights in the Twenty-First Century Dorota Anna Gozdecka y Faculty of Law, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland; dorota.gozdecka@helsinki.fi The author would like to thank Professor Margaret Thornton and two anonymous reviewers whose comments y have been invaluable in the process of revising this article. Received: 15 November 2019; Accepted: 7 February 2020; Published: 20 February 2020 Abstract: This article examines legal challenges to women’s reproductive rights in Ireland and the United States, arguing that backlash against reproductive rights is a consequence of the long unsettled position of women’s reproductive freedom in liberal democracies and the catalogue of rights. It examines the legal foundations of reproductive rights and their perceived conflicts with other values, such as religion, and focuses on the current legal challenges to women’s bodily autonomy regarding choice and motherhood. It demonstrates the many contexts in which women have not acquired full reproductive freedom, and explores the nature of the current backlash. It argues that the nature of the backlash is not simply a reclamation of what has been legally guaranteed, but instead a deepening of the preexisting divides within reproductive justice globally. Keywords: reproductive rights; access to abortion; global gag rule; populism 1. Introduction The topic of women’s reproductive freedom entered feminist theory discourse in the 1960s (Siegel 2007), though arguments for women’s reproductive freedom have been historically present in discussions on women’s liberation since the mid-1800s (Caron 2008). Since the adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the subsequent upholding of the importance of women’s rights in the Beijing Platform for Action (United Nations 1995), women’s reproductive freedom has been intrinsically linked with the notion of human rights, which have since been thought to include women’s reproductive rights (Cumberland 2012).
    [Show full text]
  • Backlash Against International Courts in West, East and Southern Africa: Causes and Consequences Downloaded from Karen J
    The European Journal of International Law Vol. 27 no. 2 © The Author, 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of EJIL Ltd. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: [email protected] Backlash against International Courts in West, East and Southern Africa: Causes and Consequences Downloaded from Karen J. Alter*, James T. Gathii** and Laurence R. Helfer*** http://ejil.oxfordjournals.org/ Abstract This article discusses three credible attempts by African governments to restrict the jurisdic- tion of three similarly situated sub-regional courts in response to politically controversial rulings. In West Africa, when the Court of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) upheld allegations of torture by opposition journalists in Gambia, that coun- at EJIL member access on July 27, 2016 try’s political leaders sought to restrict the Court’s power to review human rights complaints. The other member states ultimately defeated Gambia’s proposal. In East Africa, Kenya failed in its efforts to eliminate the East African Court of Justice (EACJ) and to remove some of its judges after a decision challenging an election to a sub-regional legislature. However, the * Professor of Political Science and Law at Northwestern University and Permanent Visiting Professor at iCourts: Centre of Excellence for International Courts, University of Copenhagen, Denmark. Email: kal- [email protected]. Earlier versions of this article were presented at the American Political Science Association’s 2014 Conference, the American Society of International Law’s 2014 Research Forum, the European Society of International Law’s 2015 Annual Meeting, Remin University Law School, Stanford University’s International Relations Seminar and the University of California Los Angeles International Relations/International Law Workshop.
    [Show full text]