The Feminist Legislation Project: Rewriting Laws for Gender-Based Justice

In this book, leading law academics along with lawyers, activists and others demonstrate what legislation could look like if its concern was to create justice for women.

Each chapter contains a short piece of legislation – proposed in order to address a contemporary legal problem from a feminist perspective. These range across criminal law (sexual offences, Indigenous women’s experiences of criminal law, laws in relation to forced marriage, modern slavery, childcare and sentencing), civil law (aged care and housing rights, regulating the gig economy; surrogacy, gender equity in the construction industry) and constitutional law (human rights legislation, reimagining parliaments where laws are made for the benefit of women). The proposed laws are, moreover, drafted with feedback from a senior parliamentary draftsperson (providing guidance to contributors in a personal capacity), to ensure conformity with legislative rigour, as well as accompanied by an explanation of their reasons and their aims. Although the legislation is Australian-based, the issues raised by each are recognisably global, and are reflected in the legislation of most other nations.

This first feminist legislation project will appeal to scholars of feminist legal studies, gender and the law, gender studies and others studying or working in relevant legal areas.

Becky Batagol is Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at Monash University, Australia.

Kate Seear is Professor at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University, Australia.

Heli Askola is Associate Professor in the Law Faculty at Monash University, Australia.

Jamie Walvisch is Senior Lecturer in the Law School at the University of Western Australia, Australia.