Gender Perceptions and the Law

The aim of this collection of papers is to bring contemporary issues of law and legal policy out into wider debate. They focus on two main issues - the influence of gender on legal relationships and of the law on gender relationships - and are further unified by two common arguments. The first argument is that gender roles within society affect the legal rights of individuals and impact on the procedures they may/must go through to enforce their rights, or gain redress for wrongs done. In addition, stereotypical gender roles and existing legal procedures impact on the likelihood of any given individual suceeding in enforcing his or her rights or regaining redress. The second argument is that the law does not recognize the social and economic situations in which men and women are placed, the result being that it perpetuates inequalities in their positions. Where attempts are made to ensure equality the legal systems and the law treat individuals as equals operating in a vacuum.
The system fails to consider the individual and group experiences of those before them and ignore the argument that equal treatment does not necessarily mean the same treatment, but can also mean different treatment to ensure equality of result. These arguments are discussed in the context of three areas of the law: family law, criminal law and equal rights.