Anti-Gender Politics in Latin America

Event on November 14

Anti-gender politics have played an extremely important part in conservative movements in Latin America, as well as across the world. Anti-democratic leaders share a common script of where the “dangers of gender ideology” are used to rally support from electorates and often serve as pretext for distracting the public from other issues such as economic precarity and civil liberties restrictions.  These leaders and movements tend to stress defense of the traditional family, protection of children against harmful influences, and demonization of non-heteronormative sexuality and gender identities and expressions, comprehensive sex education, abortion, and surrogacy. This event discussed these trends as well as counter-mobilizations occurring in the region.

Panelists

A former member and president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Julissa Mantilla Falcón specializes in human rights and has a degree from the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (PUCP), a diploma in Gender from the PUCP, and an LLM in International Human Rights Law from the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) at the University of London. She worked in the Peruvian Ombudspersons Office and was in charge of gender issues in the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation in Peru. She has served as an international consultant on transitional justice for UN Women. She is a professor at the Law School and the master’s degree in Human Rights at the PUCP and at the Academy on Human Rights and Humanitarian Law at the American University’s Washington College of Law. She has lectured internationally and authored several academic publications.

Alicia Ely Yamin (moderator) currently is a Lecturer on Law and a Senior Fellow on Global Health and Rights at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology and Bioethics at Harvard Law School; Adjunct Senior Lecturer on Health Policy and Management at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health; and Senior Advisor on Human Rights and Health Policy at the global health justice organization, Partners In Health. Dr. Yamin has served on numerous other UN, WHO and other global expert committees. Known globally for her trans-disciplinary work in relation to economic and social rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, the right to health, and the intersections between development paradigms and human rights, Dr. Yamin’s career has bridged academia and activism. She has published multiple books and over 160 articles in law and policy journals, as well as peer-reviewed public health journals, in both English and Spanish. Yamin holds Juris Doctor and Master’s in Public Health degrees from Harvard University, and a Doctorate in Law from the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina.