WMST9021 Sex, Gender and the Law GE

2020

4.5

1 x 1-hour tutorial weekly
1 x 2-hour workshop weekly

1 of LEGL2003, LEGL2112, WMST2009, WMST2015, WMST7012, WMST7028, WMST9014 has been successfully completed

Graduate Certificate in Gender Mainstreaming Policy and Analysis; Master of Arts (Women's Studies)

Completion of an undergraduate degree

Do sex, gender and sexualities matter in Australian law? Do men and women experience legal regulation in identical ways? We tend to think of sex and sexualities as 'private' matters ¿ as somehow beyond the regulatory reach of the law. This topic challenges that conception by exploring the interplay of sex/gender, sexualities and the law in areas such as domestic violence, marriage and marriage-like relationships, sexual violence, and reproductive autonomy. It also examines the relationship between gender and crime: who commits crime? Who has crime committed against them? Students will be exposed to a wide range of perspectives, and will be encouraged to research several areas of feminist jurisprudence/legal debate in depth.

The topic gives students the opportunity to survey, analyse and evaluate a range of ideas and issues located at the intersection of sex/gender, sexualities and the law. It equips students with skills and knowledge to undertake advanced theoretical and applied critical analysis, offering learning activities and assessment options designed to enhance students' collaborative, independent, and ethical learning.

On completion of this topic, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Discuss and analyse how sex, gender and sexualities are understood in a number of law-related debates concerning the government of gendered social and/or 'private' life

2. Assess the strengths and weaknesses of different feminist strategies and interventions in socio-legal issues

3. Criticise and evaluate claims to sexual equality and/or neutrality in Australian and/or international law and society

4. Research, analyse, criticise and evaluate scholarship relating to sex/gender, sexualities and the law

5. Use high-level reasoning, reading, group work, written and oral communication in collaborative, independent and ethical ways.