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2271. The #FreeKesha Movement: Individual Rights & Corporate Responsibilities

Author:
Eli Banghart
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
The human rights laws in the realm of rape within the United States have come under higher scrutiny recently. Perhaps most notably, the case of pop-singer Kesha (formerly known as Ke$ha, real name Kesha Rose Seibert) against producer Dr. Luke. The singer wishes to be released from her contract that requires six albums with Dr. Luke’s work featured in at least six songs per album. An appeal for a legal injunction was denied on 19 February 2016, striking rallying movements under the #FreeKesha tagline and an outpouring of celebrity support. This case’s impact has moved beyond Kesha, in her own words, turning into a movement against staying silent towards abusers.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, Reform, and Sexual Violence
Political Geography:
United States and North America

2272. U.S. Prison Labor: Constitutional & Profitable

Author:
Kate Morgan
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
In the United States modern prison industrial complex (PIC), there are about 2 million inmates, marking the U.S. as the largest prison population in the world and the second highest incarceration rate per capita. The U.S. has 25% of the world’s prison population, but only 5% of the world’s population. With historical roots involved in using inmates as labor for agriculture, textiles, and other manufactured goods, this practice still continues by means of privatizing labor. Under the 13th amendment, forced labor is legally allowed when a person is imprisoned. Prisoners will never have “family emergencies”, ask for a pay raise, or refuse work without the threat of solitary confinement. This makes them the ideal economically conservative employee. Private companies and organizations will lease work out to prisons, and the prisons will then use their inmates to perform the needed work, whether it be mining, agricultural work, making military weapons, or making garments and clothing for Victoria’s Secret. The pay grade for an inmate doing this work can range from nothing to $3 per hour varying per state, with Texas and Georgia legally not having to pay anything to their inmates/employees.
Topic:
Human Rights, Privatization, Labor Issues, Prisons/Penal Systems, and Manufacturing
Political Geography:
United States and North America

2273. The Invisible Burden

Author:
Rougi Toure
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
Although it is not Black History month anymore, the anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. was on April 4th 1968. Recently our nation is filled with high racial tension due the presidential elections and the focus on police brutality directed at black populations. A movement aimed at promoting a multi lateral view of what is to be black in America emerged called Black Lives Matter. This national movement influenced college campus across the country to participate in a National Die In for the University of Denver. This took place at the Anderson Academic Commons. On Monday April 4th at 4 PM students and Faculties and community members all met up to partake in this event for a remembrance of not only Martin Luther King Jr. but also to remember Laquan McDonald a teenager in Chicago who was shot 16 times under 13 seconds. All this various factors gave me concern, where are the voices of those with African roots within Academia.
Topic:
Social Movement, Discrimination, Protests, Civil Rights, and Black Lives Matter (BLM)
Political Geography:
United States and North America

2274. Climate Change and Human Rights: The Case of the Ethiopian Famine

Author:
Melissa Rary
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
With effects of climate change becoming more prominent, it is important to examine what climate change will mean in terms of human rights and the impact on the most vulnerable populations. The UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights emphasizes “increasing frequency of extreme weather events and natural disasters, rising sea-levels, floods, heat waves, droughts, desertification, water shortages, and the spread of tropical and vector-borne diseases” as a few of the many adverse effects resulting from climate change. Moreover, these issues threaten the enjoyment of the most basic rights including right to life, water, food, sanitation, among many others. Ethiopia, a country with over 80% of its population living in multidimensional poverty, is no beginner when it comes to dealing with famines. The Ethiopian Civil war began with a coup d’etat in 1973, which was largely a result of unrest after Emperor Haile Selassie refused to respond to the 1972 famine. In 1984, Ethiopia suffered a worse, more publicized famine, which is said to have killed over a million people. International initiatives were able to secure international aid, but political instability into 1991 led to lower rates of development as compared to its other Sub-Saharan neighbors. In the midst violence, a large sector of the Ethiopian population was lost, and the Ethiopian economy collapsed as a result of the government’s resistance to welcome international aid in rebel-controlled areas. The Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia was established in 1991 and was followed by a shift in Ethiopia’s resistance to international aid, ultimately jumpstarting the upwards trend of development.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Human Rights, and Famine
Political Geography:
Africa and Ethiopia

2275. Learning from Equality and Diversity in Canada

Author:
Elizabeth Kirchhoff
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
In 2016, the world is arguably more socially, economically, and politically interconnected than ever before. And yet, while the process of globalization offers humanity the possibility for unprecedented growth, learning, and progress brought on by connectivity, it also presents its own challenges. Perhaps most evident of these trials is the question of how to reconcile the human values of diversity and equality. In a world characterized by global financial inequality, disappearing languages, and mass migrations, the necessity to protect both equality and diversity is perhaps needed now more than ever. Indeed, research findings suggest that cultural and ethnic diversity within a country is correlated with greater levels of inequality as well. And yet, this is not true in all cases, and in order to avoid the pitfalls of cultural and ethnic uniformity and economic inequality in a rapidly globalizing landscape, it imperative to study and learn from countries that excel in both capacities. Canada, for instance, provides us with an excellent success story. According to a study from the University of Oldenburg, Canada has the greatest level of ethnic and cultural diversity in the Western hemisphere, and is also ranks 9th in the world on the UNDP’s Human Development Index. And so the question becomes, How have they done it? How has Canada, a nation with more than 200 ethnic groups and 200 languages managed to ensure both cultural plurality and relative equality? And perhaps more importantly, can other countries learn from Canada’s success?
Topic:
Human Rights, Inequality, Social Policy, and Diversity
Political Geography:
Canada and North America

2276. Reproductive Injustice: The Truth About Childbirth in the U.S.

Author:
Briana Simmons
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
All the processes leading to pregnancy, from maturation of the reproductive organs during puberty for males and females, to menstruation, and sex, are normal experiences within the life cycles of many. Yet, puberty is rarely fully explained, menstruation is “taboo” and well does sex education exist anymore? To make matters worse, women and their babies are still dying from preventable causes during or shortly after childbirth. About 99% of maternal deaths occur in the “developing” world with a maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in 2015 at 239 per 100,000 live births versus 12 per 100,000 in “developed” countries. The U.S. spends the most on pregnancy and childbirth, but women still have a greater risk of dying to pregnancy related complications than women in 40 other countries, according to Amnesty International. Within the U.S. race increases the likelihood of disparities in pregnancy outcomes no matter educational or economic status.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Human Rights, Reproductive Rights, and Sex Education
Political Geography:
United States and North America

2277. Pervasive Gender-Based Violence in Ukraine

Author:
Jessica Ruch
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
A wife must listen to man and do as he says. She belongs to him now,” my colleague quietly translated as the young couple held hands before the priest. This wedding was just one personal experience of a Peace Corps volunteer in a southeast village, however, research shows systematic discrimination against women and a widespread prevalence of gender based violence (GBV) in Ukraine. The UN reports that 90% of violent cases are against women and though the government has introduced initiatives and ratified laws to prevent and protect against GBV, the country faces major obstacles inhibiting prevention and survivor protection. Domestic violence (DV) and intimate partner violence, sexualized violence, sexual harassment, and human trafficking are the four most pervasive types of GBV in Ukraine. Like many other countries, DV and IPV are taboo and veiled from public and private discussions in Ukraine. The myths encouraging victim blaming in family violence and normalization of violence is still widespread in society. Comprehensive DV data was not collected until the EU and UNDP’s 2009 study, which revealed that nearly 1/3 of adults experienced DV as children and 44% of women experienced DV in their lifetime. Men were more likely to experience DV as children, and women as adults. Seventy-five percent of DV survivors never sought help and only 1-2% contacted NGOs or social services. Information on the status and response to sexualized violence is vague and unsubstantiated. The Ukrainian government reports that service providers are trained to deliver physical and psychological care to sexual assault survivors, but the EU’s Gender Equality Commission concludes that there are no services which ensure immediate care, trauma support or counseling, nor are services free or accessible to all survivors. The NGO, Women Against Violence in Europe reports that there are no permanent centers supporting survivors of sexual assault.
Topic:
Gender Issues, Gender Based Violence, Sexual Violence, and NGOs
Political Geography:
Europe, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe

2278. Millennials, Human Rights, and Returning Home

Author:
Christy Dehus
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
Millennials that leave their home country, are raised in the west, then return to their home countries leave an impact on both countries. It’s similar to the brain drain phenomenon, but this generation has the potential to positively impact both countries: their home countries by returning and the countries they are raised in by educating from afar via social media. Ugaaso Boocow is an example of this. She uses Instagram to document her journey back home to Somalia after spending the majority of her childhood and young adult life in Canada. Through this process she depicts the Somalia that the media doesn’t portray: a country full of rich heritage and geographical diversity. Her friends in the west learn about life in Somalia and Somalia is positively impacted by the education she obtained in the west. How does the influx of millennials returning to their home country after living in the west mold their understanding of universal human rights? In Somalia, as in other war-torn countries, human rights are violated on a daily basis. International humanitarian law, which provides laws to protect civilians and combatants during armed conflict, is violated. The spirit of humanity is captured through Ugaaso’s Instagram pictures, providing hope for failed states. Perhaps the return of these young people will create pressure for failed states to change. They are the champions for their countries.
Topic:
Human Rights, Humanitarian Aid, Social Movement, and Youth
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2279. Preventing Violence Against Transgender People

Author:
Elizabeth Kirchhoff
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
The rights of Transgender People are in danger. Article One of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), states that “all peoples have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” This is a human right, thus belongs to all peoples, yet Transgender people are all too often deprived of this right and many more through discrimination, oppression, and even violence. For example, a recent study from the NCAVP (National Coalition of Anti-Violence programs) shows the number of Transgender people murdered in the US in 2014 increased by 11.1% since 2013. At least twenty Transgender people were murdered in the U.S. last year alone, and there have been at least sixteen murdered thus far in 2015. Further, 55% of these homicide victims were Transgender Women of Color, even though both Transgender victims and survivors constituted just 18.88% of all reports (Ahmed).
Topic:
Human Rights, Discrimination, Violence, and LGBT+
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2280. Labor Rights & Climate Change

Author:
Melissa Rary
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center on Human Rights Education, University of Denver
Abstract:
As COHRE wraps up the academic year in the coming weeks, the Center’s focus on labor rights is coming to an end, despite the vast range of important topics left to be discussed. We cannot touch on every aspect of labor rights, though it is important that the international community remain vigilant in advocating for increased respect of labor rights, particularly as we enter into an uncertain age of technological advancement and a changing climate. With this blog, I aim to shed some light on labor issues in relation to climate change, a topic often left out of academic discourse. Population increase and decreasing availability of shared resources including water and land are exacerbated by the indisputable climactic changes the earth is facing. Climate change will also affect respect for labor rights in significant ways, and if the international community is aware of these vulnerabilities, adaptation and mitigation mechanisms can be more effective in addressing the issues.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Human Rights, and Labor Rights
Political Geography:
Global Focus