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  1. As global efforts are increasingly focused on the work of lawyers and the power of law to achieve social and economic justice for those marginalised because of their sexual or gender non-conformity, there is an urgent need for more information and critical thinking on the impact of legal challenge on the everyday lives of individuals and the communities affected.

    At this critical juncture, the IDS Sexuality, Poverty and Law Programme is interrogating the changing dynamics of sexual politics by asking: how do law and legal processes translate into lived experience in different socio-economic, political and legal contexts?
  2. In March 2015, IDS and Kent Law School convened a Sexuality and Social Justice Symposium that aimed to critically assess the scope and limitations of the law in the context of sexuality and gender, by bringing together legal practitioners, activists and scholars from around the world to explore different legal pathways and their role in reducing economic and social exclusion.
  3. Thumbnail for Sexuality and Social Justice: What's law got to do with it? | Sexuality, Poverty and LawSexuality and Social Justice: What's law got to do with it? | Sexuality, Poverty and Law
    Legal reform is perceived by many as the most effective way to secure sexual rights and freedom from persecution and exclusion for marginalised communities in the long term. But there is considerable debate over the extent to which legal processes actually address economic and social exclusion, or enable political relations of solidarity with larger human rights agendas, and in what contexts.
    Ids
  4. Setting the tone for the Symposium, research partners from the SPL Programme gave an IDS seminar where they shared findings and implications from their research in Vietnam, Nepal, The Philippines and Ethiopia.
  5. Thumbnail for Sexuality, Poverty and Law: Negotiating the sharp end of equalitySexuality, Poverty and Law: Negotiating the sharp end of equality
    Inequalities in various forms have been rising in most parts of the world since the 1980s, but only recently has inequality begun to attract mainstream attention, including from the IMF and the World Bank. How should the development community react to this newfound recognition of inequality or inequalities as a core element - and core problem - of development?
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  6. In addition, these IDS partners also wrote blog pieces to contextualise their research findings and bring the realities of the legal and economic disadvantage experienced in communities to life.
  7. Thumbnail for Empowerment, Citizenship and Redemption? Economic programmes and policies for female sex workersEmpowerment, Citizenship and Redemption? Economic programmes and policies for female sex workers
    Cheryl Overs All sides in the complex and frequently fiery debates about female adult sex work acknowledge links between sex work and economic disadvantage, injustice and inequality. My recent work has explored economic programming and policies that affect female adult sex workers in Ethiopia. As in other low income countries a significant percentage of Ethiopian...
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  8. Knowledge, Technology and Society team blog: Strategic Silence. Why no news can be good news.
    A subtle approach to making a difference - The case of Rwandan Civil Society As the situation in relation to gay rights in Uganda and Nigeria became more inflamed and countries such as Kenya, DRC and Ethiopia were tipped to follow suit, Rwanda has remained noticeably silent on the issue.
    Knotsids
  9. Thumbnail for Voices Loud, Clear and Diverse at the Cutting Edge of Sexuality Research and Activism: Reflections on ILGA2014Voices Loud, Clear and Diverse at the Cutting Edge of Sexuality Research and Activism: Reflections on ILGA2014
    Cheryl Overs The theme of the Annual Global Conference of the International Gay and Lesbian Association conference in Mexico City was 'decolonising our bodies.' Five hundred activists, academics and policy makers talked about forms of colonisation and how to identify, resist and defy it. I followed sessions that reflected areas of work of the Sexuality...
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  10. In the last few years, interest in examining the economic impact that exclusion has on gender and sexual minorities has also risen up the political agenda with the World Bank commissioning a report from Professor Lee Badgett on the cost of homophobia in India. The findings have sparked both methodological and ideological debates within sexual rights movements and received a great deal of press attention.
  11. Thumbnail for US economist Lee Badgett shows the costs of homophobiaUS economist Lee Badgett shows the costs of homophobia
    Economist Professor Lee Badgett says equal treatment for gays and lesbians can benefit economies the world over. For the past two decades, she's mined data in her quest to prove it.
    South China Morning Post
  12. Before the symposium, the organisers asked a series of challenging questions via social media to ensure that the conversation spread beyond the meeting itself and drew in a wide range of viewpoints.
  17. As guests started to arrive for the symposium, IDS Sexuality, Poverty and Law Convenor Dr Elizabeth Mills penned a blog post that set out the context in which the symposium will be taking place.
  18. Thumbnail for Sexuality and Social Justice: What's law got to do with it?Sexuality and Social Justice: What's law got to do with it?
    This week nearly sixty activists, academics and policy makers arrive in Brighton, UK to participate in the international event: Sexuality and Social Justice Symposium: What's law got to do with it?
    Ids
  19. Day 1 kicked off with a rousing keynote speech by Dr Rahul Rao of the Centre for Gender Studies, SOAS, University of London
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    Institute of Development Studies, Sussex
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    Thu, Mar 05 2015 11:32:57
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