When some rights matter more than others: Recent National Legislation on Women?s Human Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean (2007-2013)

RODRÍGUEZ GUSTÁ, ANA LAURA; MADERA, NANCY

Barcelona

Congreso; Latin American Studies Association (LASA) Annual Meeting 2018; 2018

Latin American Studies Association

In promoting policy debate and proposing legislation, female legislators draw upon several instruments that provide the intellectual foundations for the human rights frame: CEDAW and Belém do ParáBoth CEDAW and Belem do Para come with mechanisms to hold the State accountable for changes in the living conditions of women.At the national level, female representatives seek to renew and even create legislative structures more attuned to discussing women?s rights and passing legislation accordingly (Piscopo). As a result, women?s parliamentary caucuses, gender equality committees, and gender technical units are widespread in the region, amounting to 65 organizational structures in a total of 18 national legislatures by 2015 (Rodríguez Gustá and Madera). United Nations agencies accompany these efforts, providing political and technical support, and fostering regional parliamentary meetings for exchanging ideas and ?best practices? about gender-sensitive legislation. The transnational and regional networks, the support of the UN system, and an active feminist movement, are all factors that serve female legislators to become acquainted with a rights-based agenda for women (Francisco and Antrobus). Given this normative and institutional context, it is not surprising that, in Latin America, the legislative gender equality agenda adopts the language of women?s human rights.What are the topics that become legislated with the human rights language? Are there topics that receive more attention than others? Are there issues that could be legislated from a human rights perspective but are missing from the legislative agenda?