Feminist Theory in Refugee Law

 

 

Feminist theory in refugee law rose to prominence in the 1990s. However, Dauvergne recently noted that “the past three decades of feminist work in refugee law advocacy stand as a cautionary tale” because “what began with a huge burst of energy and creativity in the final decade of the twentieth century has stalled spectacularly”. It is time for change.

 

This is the reason that, in 2020, the Refugee Law Initiative Working Group on Feminist Theory and Displacement was formed. It seeks to rekindle feminist engagement not only with refugee law narrowly understood, but also with legal displacement research more broadly. Based on the conviction that they have great reformatory potential, this group engages in regular discussions about the relevance of feminist approaches to legal displacement research, extending beyond refugee law to consider the legal protection of other forcibly displaced persons. This blog series, which will be released throughout 2023, will highlight some of these discussions