Surfacing Harmful Speech Against Women—Proposals for Gender-Sensitive Fact-Finding and Interpretation in International Criminal Law

Abstract

This article identifies how, and to what extent, harmful speech, such as, gender-based incitement and threats against women, are addressed in international criminal law and practice. It delves into the jurisprudence on direct and public incitement to genocide, genocide and persecution, a crime against humanity, to identify trends. Finding that the law overlooks the issue and that the practice only marginally refers to it, the article resorts to international human rights law as an interpretative aid and to fill the gaps. In this regard, inspired by feminist theories, it proposes interpretative methods that can be applied by judges to surface, fairly label and ultimately sanction harmful speech targeted at women. As such, this article contributes to the doctrinal discourse on what gendered crimes are, and what gender-sensitive judging in international courts should look like.