feminists@law aims to publish critical, interdisciplinary, theoretically engaged scholarship that extends feminist debates and analyses relating to law and justice (broadly conceived). It has a particular interest in critical and theoretical approaches and perspectives that draw upon postcolonial, transnational and poststructuralist work. The journal publishes material in a range of print and multimedia formats and in English and other languages. The journal is committed to an international perspective, to the promotion of feminist work in all areas of law and justice, and to making that work widely available through open access publishing. ISSN: 2046-9551
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work for any purposs with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
Protection as Exclusion: A Postcolonial Feminist Reading of Gender Discrimination in Lebanese Labour Law
The Lebanese Labour Code (1946) contains a structural contradiction that has received insufficient theoretical attention: Article 26 explicitly prohibits gender-based discrimination in the workplace, yet Article 27 and Annex 1 — both unchanged since the law's colonial-era enactment — ban women from nineteen categories of industrial employment. This paper argues that this contradiction is not a legislative oversight but the inherited architecture of French Mandate paternalism, which constructed the Arab woman worker as a body requiring protection — and then used that protection as the primary mechanism of economic exclusion. Drawing on postcolonial feminist legal theory — specifically Kandiyoti's (1988) concept of the patriarchal bargain, Abu-Lughod's (2013) critique of the saving-women discourse, and Fricker's (2007) epistemic injustice — the paper conducts a close reading of the Labour Code as a colonial text that continues to produce gendered subjects eighty years after independence. The analysis identifies four discriminatory mechanisms operating simultaneously within the law: protective exclusion from named industries (Article 27); total exclusion from the law's scope for domestic workers (Article 7); symbolic equality without enforcement (Article 26); and the absence of intersectional protection for hijab-wearing women and for working mothers managing child sick care. The paper also recovers the history of Lebanese women tobacco workers' organised resistance — particularly the 1930–1946 protests — as the suppressed political context of the law's enactment. It concludes by tracing the health and social consequences of this legal architecture and asking what a genuinely decolonised Lebanese labour law would require.
Disrupting (Feminist) Canons: On the Feminist Judgments in Central and Eastern Europe
This piece offers a reflection on the Feminist Judgments in Central and Eastern Europe project (FJP-CEE).
Policy Reports on Contemporary Social Justice Issues from the Race, Sexuality and Gender Justice Module on the LLB Programme at Kent Law School
Introduction to the Special Section on Race, Sexuality and Gender Justice Policy Reports
Copyright (c) 2026 Julie McCandless, Antonia Porter, Carin Tunåker
Virtual Violence and Harms Beyond the Screen: Gender-Based Cybercrimes, Escalating Offline Violence, and Institutional Neglect
Gender-based cybercrimes have influenced and encouraged the continuum of sexual violence against women in both the virtual and the real world. Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) is most commonly known as ‘revenge porn’, which acts as an umbrella term for the multitude of digital harms. However, most people understand ‘revenge porn’ to mean the act of non-consensually sharing intimate images that were either taken without the victim’s consent, or the victim was unaware that they were being filmed at the time. Recently, IBSA has evolved exponentially with the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to create deepfake images, in which individuals have not consented or unknowingly had their faces digitally manipulated onto another’s body within an intimate image or video. Although the term ‘revenge porn’ is more commonly used, this paper adopts the term Non-Consensual Image Sharing (NCIS) instead. This is because the phrase ‘revenge porn’ implies that the victim has done something to incite revenge and thus is a term that is ostensibly victim-blaming. Not only have digital harms increased in different forms of image production and sharing, but some victims have unfortunately faced physical attacks offline by their online perpetrator. Additionally, heightened vulnerability of digital sexual violence is seen primarily within groups of young women and girls, showcasing intersectionality between age and gender. All of this has been allowed to accelerate due to hopeless legal reform and ignorance by legislators to implement mechanisms that effectively combat evolving tools by perpetrators to inflict such harms. Such tools, including mass distribution on public platforms and AI, produce an accessible opportunity to commit such crimes, especially the availability to do so without substantial surveillance and proportionate legal punishments.
The Challenge of Tackling Intersecting Inequalities in Policy and Practice: Examining Intersectionality in LGBT Youth Homelessness
This report examines the challenge of tackling intersecting inequalities in policy and practice, specifically regarding LGBT youth homelessness (those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, etc). There is a dearth of research, law and policy that tackles LGBT homelessness, especially regarding how gender, race and sexuality can compound, increasing chances of homelessness. Furthermore, the challenge of tackling intersecting inequalities in policy and practice is understanding how intersecting disadvantage leads to complex situations, often not sufficiently targeted in policy, practice and law. Specifically, this report examines how sexuality, race and gender together can increase the likelihood of homelessness and adverse experiences while homeless, demonstrating a need for better targeted policy, law and practice.
Breaking Barriers in Football: Tackling the Pay Gap and Under-Representation of Women
This report explores the persistent gender inequalities in English football, focusing on the pay gap and the underrepresentation of women in coaching roles over the past eight years. Despite the rising popularity of women’s football, systemic issues rooted in historical gender norms have led to significant disparities in earnings and opportunities. Statistical data, firsthand accounts, and academic research highlight that male players and managers earn substantially more than their female counterparts, with average salaries for Women’s Super League players at approximately £47,000 compared to millions for male players. Moreover, female coaches face similar pay inequities, exacerbated by barriers to entry and a lack of representation in leadership roles. The report identifies two key factors contributing to these disparities: historical societal norms that have marginalized women in sports and ongoing underinvestment due to perceived profitability issues. Recommendations to address these inequalities include enhancing transparency in pay reporting, integrating football education into school curricula, and promoting inclusive hiring practices. By implementing these measures, the report argues that English football can foster greater gender equality, ensuring fairer pay and improved opportunities for women in the sport. This analysis underscores the need for systemic change, underpinned by equality law, to dismantle entrenched biases and promote inclusivity in football leadership.
Addressing the Barriers for Same-Sex Female Couples in Accessing IVF
This policy report identifies and address the financial, geographical and social obstacles same-sex female couples in the UK face when accessing in vitro fertilisation (IVF). It also proposes practical yet achievable, long and short-term actions that the government can take to ensure same-sex couples have equitable access to IVF.
Breaking the Silence: Addressing Men’s Underrepresentation in Sexual Assault Cases and Policy as a Gender Equality Issue
Male survivors of sexual assault remain significantly underrepresented in the United Kingdom’s (UK) policy, support, and legal frameworks. This policy report identifies this underrepresentation not merely as a gap in crime reporting but as a critical issue of substantive gender equality. Drawing on Fredman’s theory of substantive equality and Connell’s concept of hegemonic masculinity, this report examines how legal definitions, cultural stigma, and gender norms have systematically silenced male victims, thereby contributing to their underrepresentation in sexual assault cases and policy. While awareness has grown in recent years, spurred by high-profile cases and survivor advocacy, many men still encounter persistent barriers to speaking out as victims of sexual assault and accessing justice. The reasons for their silence may lie in deeply rooted societal expectations of masculinity, gender-biased legal classifications, inadequately tailored support services, and exclusion from mainstream gender violence policies. Overcoming these barriers is essential—not only to ensure justice and care for all survivors but as a necessary step toward meaningful gender inclusion.