Gender, health, and human rights in sites of political exclusion

Bibliographic Data

ID15540672
AuthorsM Laurie (Columbia University), Rosalind Pollack Petchesky (The Graduate Center, CUNY, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume3
Issuesup1
Pages25-41
Publication date2008-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441690801892125
PMID19288341
OpenAlexW2134128611
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited40

In this paper, we investigate the intersections of gender, health and human rights in sites of political exclusion. We apply the political theory of Giorgio Agamben on 'states of exception', seeking to better understand how the recent 'war on terror', that seemingly knows no limits of time or space, is driving health outcomes in refugee and Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps. Reproductive health, militarization, and gender-based violence in camps are explored in depth. The evidence presented reveals a number of contradictions of refugee and IDP camps, further highlighting the need for a more rights based humanitarianism. We conclude that foregrounding states of exception, as a way of understanding current gender dynamics in the social determinants of health, is both epidemiologically necessary and conceptually useful. We find that, in these sites of exclusion, the indispensability of a human rights approach to gender and health equity issues is revealed most directly. Furthermore, we are able to make new connections between the 'crisis of humanitarianism', gender, and health

Criminology · Foregrounding · Health care · Health equity · Human rights · Internally displaced person · Militarization · Political science · Politics · Refugee · Social exclusion · Sociology · Gender Studies · Gender, Security, and Conflict · Health and Conflict Studies · Law · Migration, Health and Trauma