Global Intersectionality and Contemporary Human Rights

Global Intersectionality and Contemporary Human Rights argues for an expansive definition of human rights, one that encompasses the harm caused by multiple, intersecting forms of subordination. Intersectionality theory posits that aspects of identity, such as race and gender, are mutually constitutive and intersect to create unique experiences of discrimination and subordination. Perpetrators of sexual violence in armed conflict, of example, often target women based on both gender and ethnicity. Human rights remedies that fail to capture the intersectional nature of human rights violations do not offer comprehensive redress to victims. This title explores the influence of intersectionality theory on human rights in the modern era and traces the evolution of intersectionality as a theoretical framework in the United States and around the world. It draws upon feminist theory and human rights jurisprudence to argue that scholars and activists have under-utilized intersectionality theory in the global discourse of human rights. As the central intergovernmental organization charged with the protection of human rights, the United Nations has been slow to embrace the insights gained from intersectionality theory. This work argues that the United Nations and other human rights organizations must more actively embrace intersectionality as an analytical framework in order to fully address the complexity of human rights violations around the world.

Johanna Bond is the Sydney and Francis Lewis Professor of Law at Washington and Lee. She also served as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2016-19. In 2001, she was selected as a Senior Fulbright Scholar and travelled to Uganda and Tanzania to conduct research that later resulted in her edited book, Voices of African Women: Women's Rights in Ghana, Uganda, and Tanzania. Previously, Bond was an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Wyoming and a Visiting Associate Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center for several years. She served as the Executive Director of the Women's Law and Public Policy Fellowship Program, a non-profit organization housed at Georgetown. Before beginning her teaching career, Bond was a law clerk for the Honorable Ann D. Montgomery, US District Court, District of Minnesota from 1997-98. Bond holds a B.A. from Colorado College, a J.D. from the University of Minnesota Law School, and an LL.M from Georgetown University Law Center.