Dr Silvana Tapia Tapia is examining why moving toward a non-penal human rights framework is critical for tackling violence against women.
Experts at the University of Birmingham have launched a new report calling for a reimagining of the international human rights penalty framework to tackle violence against women.
International human rights frameworks typically foreground criminalisation, prosecution and punishment as primary responses to serious human rights violations, including violence against women. The project, led by Dr Silvana Tapia Tapia and supported by Tatiana Padron Palacios and Genaro Tapia Tapia, investigates the impact and challenges of this framework. Through engagement with activists in Ecuador who propose anti-carceral justice, the report examines what abolitionist, feminist and anti-colonial justice could look like.
This study argues that addressing violence demands more than laws and punishment. It requires tackling inequality and the root causes of violence against women, supporting survivors throughout the judicial process, and strengthening community support networks.
'Toward a non-penal human rights framework: Ecuador field work report' is available to read in English and Spanish.
Associate Professor in Law
Biographical and contact information for Dr Silvana Tapia Tapia, Associate Professor in Law at the University of Birmingham.
