Women and Genocide

The Genocide Convention, created in the post-Holocaust world, was designed to protect against future acts of genocide and to punish perpetrators. History shows that, along with the sociological theory of genocide which underpins it, the Genocide Convention was drafted predominantly by men. Through a feminist-inspired analytical lens, we can ask: what does this mean for the norms and standards reflected in the document, and the acts of genocide it outlaws?

By drawing on archival materials and contemporaneous trial transcripts, this talk will explore whether original genocide theory and law coherently reflect the gendered harms experienced by women during genocides and the approach of the drafters to these harms. It will ask how men understood the vulnerabilities of women to acts of genocide, whether this is influenced by the position of women in the post-World War Two society, and whether this continues to influence current conceptualisations of gender and genocide.

This talk will also present research on the women and international women’s organisations who played an important role in helping the success of the Convention, and their motivations and influences.

Dr Annabel Higgins graduated with her PhD in January 2024 from the University of London’s School of Advanced Studies. Her research focused on women and the Genocide Convention; how women influenced the success of the Convention as well as how the Convention viewed women. Her book on the same subject will be published in 2025. She currently works for the Bodleian Libraries, based in the beautiful Radcliffe Camera and Old Bodleian.

This event is being organised by the Kellogg College MCR. If you have any questions, please contact the Diversity and Inclusion Officer, sharvi.maheshwari@theology.ox.ac.uk