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THEINTERSECTIONALITYOFRACEANDGENDERDISCRIMINATION

I.ABSTRACT

Neitherthegenderaspectsofracialdiscriminationnortheracialaspectsofgenderdiscriminationarefullycomprehendedwithinhumanrightsdiscourses.Buildingonthegrowingrecognitionthatraceandgenderdiscriminationarenotmutuallyexclusivephenomena,thisbackgroundpaperoffersaprovisionalframeworktoidentifyvariousformsofsubordinationthatcanbesaidtoreflecttheinteractiveeffectsofraceandgenderdiscrimination.'Thisframeworksuggestsaprovisionalprotocoltohelpidentifytheoccasionsinwhichsuchinteractivediscriminationmayhaveoccurred,andpositsfurtherthattheresponsibilitytoaddressthecausesandconsequencesofsuchdiscriminationbesharedwidelyamongallhumanrightsinstitutions.

II.

INTRODUCTIONANDOVERVIEW

Inspiredbythedesiretoaddresstheongoinginequalityofwomenworldwide,womenwithinhumanrightsarenashavemadeimportantgainsoverthelastdecadetoensuregreaterinclusionofwomenandgender-relatedhumanrightsabuseswithinthescopeofhumanrightsdiscourses.Attheformallevel,theprincipleofgenderequalityintheenjoymentofhumanrightsisgroundedintheUnitedNationsCharter-andtheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights(UDHR)3andithasbeenclarified

8November2000

KimberleCrenshaw,ProfessorofLawatColumbia

UCLALawSchools.AnearlierversionofthispaperwaspresentedasthebackgroundpaperfortheExpertGroupMeetingonGenderandRaceDiscriminationheldinZagreb,CroatiaNovember21-24,2000.Theauthorwishestogreatlyacknowledgethecontributionsofseveralindividualswhomadethispaperpossible.LukeCharlesHarrisandM.DouglasScottprovidedcriticaleditorialassistanceandsupport.ThanksalsotoAnitaNayar,UmaNarayan,TerriJames,DevonCarbadoandVeenaVasistaforprovidingvaluablecommentsonearlierdraftsofthispaper,andtoSilkeSahlwhoprovidedreferencesupport.Finally,averyspecialthanksisduetomycolleague,RadhikaBalakrishnan,whooverthecourseofmanylongeveningsbroughtherinternationaleconomicexpertisetothechallengingtaskofreframingandarticulatingintersectionalanalysistoaglobalaudience.Asthisdraftiscirculatedforcommentsandcriticisms,theauthorrespectfullyrequeststhatitnotbereproducedwithoutexpresspermission.Responsesarewelcomeat:Crenshaw@law.columbia.edu.

Hereitisnecessarytoclarifythetermsusedthroughoutthispaper.First,buildingonthebroadscopeoftheInternationalConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofRacialDiscrimination,theterms"race,""racism"and"racialdiscrimination"willbeusedbroadlytocaptureallformsofgroupbaseddiscriminationsincludingnotonlythosebasedonformalracialdistinctionsbutalsothosebasedoncolor,ethnicity,caste,nationalorigin,andancestry.

See

InternationalConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofRacialDiscrimination,

adoptedDec.

21,1965,660U.N.T.S.195(enteredintoforceJanuary4,1969)[hereinafterRaceConvention].Becausethenatureofgroup-baseddiscriminationvarieswidelyaroundtheworld,thereisnouniformwaytonamethewomenwhoarevictimizedbycompounddiscrimination.Insomecontexts,theterm"womenofcolor"maybeappropriate,inothers,"ethnicwomen"or"minoritywomen"ismoredescriptiveandinstillothers,noneofthesetermsisapt.Tocaptureallthewaysinwhichsomewomenaremarginalrelativetootherswithintheirsocieties,varioustermswillbeusedinterchangeablyincluding"racializedwomen,""raciallymarginalizedwomen,"and"racedwomen."

U.N.Charter,art.I,para.3("ThePurposesoftheUnitedNationsare:Toachieveinternationalcooperationin...promotingandencouragingrespectforhumanrightsandforfundamentalfreedomsforallwithoutdistinctionastorace,

throughtheConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofDiscriminationagainstWomen+(Women'sConvention).TheseguaranteeshavebeenrefinedthroughaseriesofWorldConferences,includingtheCairo,"Copenhagen.sVienna,"andBeijing-WorldConferences.

sex,

language,orreligion....")(emphasisadded).

UniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,Dec.10,1948,G.A.Res.217A,U.N.GAOR,3dSess.,pt.1,at71,art.2,UN.Doc.

Al81

0(1948)("EveryoneisentitledtoalltherightsandfreedomssetforthinthisDeclaration,withoutdistinctionofanykind,suchasrace,colour,

sex,

language,religion,politicalorotheropinion,nationalorsocialorigin,property,birth,orotherstatus.")(emphasisadded).

ConventionontheEliminationofAllFormsofDiscriminationAgainstWomen,Dec.18,1979,1249U.N.T.S.13(enteredintoforceSept.3,1981)[hereinafterWomen'sConvention].

ProgrammeofActionoftheUnitedNations,InternationalConferenceonPopulationandDevelopment,Cairo,5-13September

1994,

ch.IV,U.N.Doc.

AlCONF.171113(1994).

ReportoftheWorldConferenceoftheUnitedNationsDecadeforWomen:Equality,DevelopmentandPeace,Copenhagen,14-30July1980,

UN.publication,SalesNo.E.80.IV.3andcorrigendum.

ViennaDeclarationandProgrammeofAction:NoteBytheSecretariat,WorldConferenceonHumanRights,

U.N.GAOR,1993Sess.,UN.Doc.AlCONF.l57/23(1993)[hereinafterViennaDeclaration].

ReportoftheFourthWorldConferenceonWomen,Beijing,

4-15

September

1995,

U.N.GAOR,1995Sess.,AgendaItem165,at131,136,U.N.Doc.

AlCONF.I77/20

(1995)[hereinafterBeijingDeclarationandPlatformforAction].

3Theserefinementshaverepresentedconceptualadvancesinexpandingthescopeofhumanrightsbeyonditsinitialparameters,whichmarginalizedtherangeofhumanrightsabusesthatweregender-specifictowomen.?Therelativesuccessoftheseeffortsisevidencedinthesubstantiveshiftinperspectivesabouttherelevanceofgenderdifferenceintheprocessofexpandingthescopeofwomen'shumanrights.AlthoughtheUDHRinitsowntermsguaranteestheenjoymentofhumanrightsfreeofgenderdistinctions.l?therightsofwomenandthespecificcircumstancesunderwhichtheysufferhumanrightsabuseshaveinthepastbeenframeddifferentlyfromtheclassicalvisionsofhumanrightsabuse.Inthissense,womenhavebeenmarginalwithinahumanrightsregimethathasaspiredtowarduniversalapplication.Thisbrandofuniversalismwasfirmlygroundedintheexperiencesofmen.

Thus,whilewomen'senjoymentofhumanrightswasformallyguaranteed,theseprotectionswerecompromisedtotheextentthatwomen'sexperiencescouldbesaidtobedifferentfromtheexperiencesofmen.Thus,whenwomenweredetained,tortured,andotherwisedeniedcivilandpoliticalrightsinthesamefashionasmen,theseabuseswereclearlyseenasviolationsofhuman

rights.F

Yetwhenwomenwererapedincustody,beateninprivate,ordeniedaccesstodecision-makingbytradition,theirdifferencesfrommenrenderedsuchabusesperipheraltothecorehumanrightsguarantees.

Asaconsequenceoftheeffortsofwomenactivistsoverthelastdecade,bothatthevariousWorldConferencesandwithinauxiliaryhumanrightsarenas,aconsensushasdevelopedtotheeffectthathumanrightsforwomenshouldnotbelimitedtosituationswherewomen'sproblems,predicamentsandvulnerabilitiesaresimilartothosesufferedbymen.

Theexpandingscopeofwomen'shuman

Seegenerally

HilaryCharlesworth,ChristineChinkin,&ShelleyWright,

FeministApproachestoInternationalLaw,

85Am.J.Int'lL.613(1991)(arguingthatboththestructuresofinternationallawmakingandthecontentoftherulesofinternationallawmarginalizewomenandprivilegemen).

UniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,

supra

note3,art.2("EveryoneisentitledtoalltherightsandfreedomssetforthinthisDeclaration,withoutdistinctionofanykind,suchas...sex....").

See

Charlesworth,Chinkin,&Wright,

supra

note9,at625-34.

Onecommentatornotesthatthisuniversalismextendedbothtogovernmentalandnon-governmentalorganizations(NGOs).NancyKim,

TowardaFeministTheoryofHumanRights:StraddlingtheFencebetweenWesternImperialismandUncriticalAbsolutism,

25Colum.Hum.Rts.L.Rev.49(1993).Kimnotesthatasof1993,theU.N.CommissionontheStatusofWomenhadonlyrecognizedphysicalviolenceagainstwomenwhileincustody.

Id.

at78(citingSandraColiver,

UnitedNationsCommissionontheStatusofWomen:SuggestionsforEnhancingitsEffectiveness,

9WhittierL.Rev.435,440-41(1987)).Similarly,KimexplainsthattheNGOAmnestyInternationalpublishedareportregardingwomen'srightsviolations,butfocused"onlyongender-specifichumanrightsviolationsthatfallintothepreexisting,male-orienteddefmitionofhumanrights."

Id.

at83(footnoteomitted).

HilaryCharlesworth,

Whatare"Women'sInternationalHumanRights"?,in

HumanRightsofWomen:NationalandInternationalPerspectives58,71-75(RebeccaJ.Cooked.,1994)(describinghowboth"firstgeneration"civilandpoliticalrightsand"secondgeneration"social,cultural,andreligiousrightsareunderstoodinwaysthatobscureandignoretheexperiencesofwomen);Kim,

supra

note12,at83(paraphrasingProfessorCharlotteBunch,whosummarizedtheexcusesgivenbyNGOsfornotaddressinggender-basedviolationsasincludingthat"theabuseofwomen,whileregrettable,isacultural,private,orindividualissueandnotapoliticalmatterrequiringstateaction").

See,e.g.,