In 1998, the government passed the Human Rights Act which incorporated the European Convention on Human Rights into British law. Some legal experts say that women's groups in the UK have been slow to take advantage of human rights law to achieve their aims compared with women activists in other countries such as Canada. As British politicians continue to debate whether the Human Rights Act should be maintained, amended or abolished, a conference is being held later this week to explore why women in the UK have not been making more use of the Human Rights Act. Martha Kearney will be discussing this issue with Prof Rosemary Hunter, Acting Director of the Centre for Law, Gender and Sexuality at the University of Kent, and Gwen Brodsky, a Canadian lawyer and women’s activist.
