Louise Chappell - Women's Rights
Louise Chappell is an associate professor in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney.
ICC and the pursuit of justice for women
Associate Professor Chappell’s research focuses on issues related to the achievement of sustainable security outcomes for women through national and international policymaking forums.
Her current ARC-funded research project looks specifically at the implementation of the gender provisions of the International Criminal Court (ICC). This research assesses the effectiveness of the ICC’s provisions for bringing about new, permanent avenues through which women who have experienced gender-related crimes in times of war and conflict can seek justice. The project also considers the influence of the ICC statute and related jurisprudence on the development of policymaking in all states, in areas such as domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking in women and women’s reproductive rights.
The ICC work grew out of Chappell’s interest in the operation of gender norms within political institutions and the way in which they shape political behaviour and public policy outcomes.
In 2008 she was a visiting fellow at Leiden University where she worked with international experts in the field of human security as well as the Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, the peak women’s rights lobby for the ICC. As a co-director of the Feminism and Institutionalism International Network, based at the University of Edinburgh, Chappell is collaborating with colleagues in Europe and the USA to develop new ways to conceptualise political institutional reform that take account of gender equity concerns, based on the premise that sustainable policy solutions are only possible when decision-making processes are inclusive of all members of society.
Her work complements research by her colleagues in the Department of Government and International Relations in areas such as the environment, peace, security,