Sexuality

The Council is currently pursuing a project based upon the intersection between issues of sexuality and human rights. An area of research as vast as it is controversial, the project will be guided by an initial Discussion Paper commissioned from academic Alice Miller, Lecturer in Residence and Senior Fellow at the Thelton E. Henderson Center for Social Justice at Berkeley University and an expert in the field of gender and law. The paper, entitled Sexuality and Human Rights is the first in a new series of Discussion Papers to be published by the Council from time to time. More information about the Discussion Paper can be found here.

Sexuality and Human Rights identifies a number of areas of focus upon which the Council’s research could be based. These include:

• An examination of the principles that have been invoked to justify the regulation or authorisation of contested sexual behaviour (privacy, harm, public health, public order, public morals);

• A more specific study of the principles that determine state obligations in relation to sexual rights (public order, public morals, public safety etc.), including a comprehensive review of national jurisprudence and the work of human rights treaty bodies;

• A study on sexual speech, and the degree to which pornography and other forms of sexual expression can be considered harmful;

• A study of the state’s obligation to affirm, protect and clarify recognised sexual rights; and

• Research into the notions of informed consent and privacy (the withholding of information about personal sexuality, past sexual offences, previous sexual partners, HIV status etc.).

The Council convened a meeting of experts and academics in Geneva on 6 and 7 July 2009 to assess the findings of the discussion paper and provide advice to the Council about the direction of the project.