Gender 305 Gender and International Human Rights

In this episode students focus on human trafficking in Canada, exploring how women are suppressed emotionally, spiritually, and physically which can inhibit them from reaching out for help, and from speaking up on their issues and experiences. Students explore how Indigenous women don't feel comfortable coming forward due to authority and distrust within prosecution and feel fearful or ashamed due...

Summary of the episode: In this episode, students discuss Thailand as an example of how sex workers are treated in the global south. They compare Thailand’s illegal sex work industry to Canada’s, which operates under the Nordic model. We present jarring facts and statistics about the Thai sex industry, like the fact that the Thai sex industry contributes to an estimated 10%-12% of Thailand’s Gross...

This podcast discusses gender-based violence against women in war-time, using the war in Ethiopia as an example. On 4 November 2020, war erupted in the Tigray, the war in Tigray resulted in a massive humanitarian crisis. Preliminary reports have shown that Tigrayan women and girls have experienced deliberate and organized widespread war-related gender-based violence, in which some were subjected t...

When looking at these statistics, one is inclined to believe that all older adults are equally likely to experience some form of elder abuse, but that is unfortunately untrue. To fully understand the affected population, one must understand that women comprise 61% of the global population of 80 and over (World Population Aging, 2019). In most countries, this percentage increases with age; for exam...

This podcasts presents an overview on violence against women. Considering it a deeply concerning issue around the world and the ubiquity of this issue strengthens the need to research the ways in which women are not being protected. Many women experience violence daily and at many different levels. The laws and policies that are intended to protect women from violence may inadvertently perpetuate...

In this episode, students delve into the complex relationship between film and human rights. The conversation explores how films have been used as a medium to convey and conceptualize stories related to human rights, shedding light on issues, injustices, violence, and violations. Students examine the power of film to connect and empathize with individuals whose human rights have been violated and...

The overarching subject of this podcast is gender inequality in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), focusing on the question: to what extent can gender inequality organizations function in places of extreme inequality? We chose the United Arab Emirates specifically due to our close connection with someone who lives there. All of our group members are living in Canada where gender equality is more prev...

Technology is more prevalent today than it has ever been (Heo et al., 2021). With the current COVID-19 pandemic, technology itself has progressed at such an extensive rate around schools, work, and almost all methods of communications transitioning to be online (Heo et al., 2021). Because of this technological reformation into our everyday lives, it is easy to assume that everyone has had experien...

Our podcast's central focus is on Indigenous women's rights and the pervasive issue of gender-based violence. We specifically concentrate on combating violence against Indigenous women and girls in Canada and how these endeavors intersect with international law and policies. Despite the existence of international human rights laws and conventions, including the United Nations Declaration on the Ri...

This podcast explores how Indigenous women have and still are having their rights violated and how these violations are not being addressed by the colonial government. The fact that the rights of Indigenous women come second to human rights, and how they are treated like “add ons.” We hope to provide information and discuss resources to inform people about not only the issue but how to get involve...

We have chosen the topic of gender violence as a human rights issue because it is widespread and global. We are interested in discussing gender violence from a theoretical feminist lens to capture the complexity and intersectionality involved in gender violence as a human rights issue in a way that other theoretical perspectives cannot. As MacKinnon states, “what happens to women is either too par...

Often language employed within universal laws are inaccessible to the public and can only be understood by those retaining a high level of selective education, which is often privatized. Hence, the ability to comprehend human rights treaties becomes limited, rights become unrecognized to the general public, and the knowledge of individual rights remains undisclosed. Subsequently, wrongdoings commi...

In this episode, students explicitly excavate the Yogyakarta principles, looking at the barriers to Canadian and International implementation. Students use different gender perspectives on the Yogyakarta interview/conversation style to elicit authentic descriptions of experiences. References The Transgender Archives https://www.uvic.ca/transgenderarchives/index.php The Humans Rights Watch Organiza...

​​ This episode explores how language and inclusion of LGBTQ+ terminology in human rights, and women’s rights can be expanded. The students focus on trans and gender-variant people’s rights who have been left primarily out of UN human rights discussions. There are multiple ways this topic is relevant, from student’s personal experiences and beliefs, through relevance to this course and the world s...

This podcast focuses on abortion rights in Canada: what is the history of abortion rights in Canada? Are there any legislated protections in place for individuals wanting/needing an abortion? How accessible are abortions? Also, what are some of the socio-economic impacts/pressures when it comes to getting an abortion? And how have Indigenous peoples been affected by changes in reproductive rights,...

This is an extremely important topic because of how many intersections lead to women’s rights. Women still deal with an immense amount of violence and discrimination, and we hope that by examining the monstrosities perpetrated against women in the United States we will bring more awareness to this topic. We also hope that by examining CEDAW, we can propose potential solutions. CEDAW is a brilliant...

Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in the United States, the topic of abortion has been present in the minds of many in North America. There has been access to safe abortions for many years and now woman have to worry that their right to safe and legal abortions could be taken away at any given time. Banning access to to safe and legal abortions does not mean that they are not happening, they a...

Roe v. Wade was a landmark Supreme Court case brought in 1973. The ruling stated that undue State restriction of abortion before 24 weeks of pregnancy was unconstitutional. This ruling was recently struck down in 2022 with the Case Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Roe v. Wade, Encyclopaedia Britannica 2022). The overturning of Roe v. Wade does not only affect “women,” as there are othe...

Abortion remains a subject often discussed at the policy level and within activist channels in addition to being debated in public spaces by citizens more generally. Developments in abortion politics worldwide have material consequences for the lives of many people and with pressing health concerns that threaten the lives of women at the heart of the discourse. Additionally, the recent overruling...

In this episode series, Tamara Gonsalves provides insight into student podcasts regarding gender and international human rights. In 2022 and 2023, students were asked to create podcasts for the University of Victoria course Gender 305 regarding gender roles in human rights. Throughout this season, prior students of Gender 305 do a deep dive on topics such as gender-based discrimination, gender-bas...