Overview

In 2017, allegations against Harvey Weinstein prompted a worldwide witnessing of sexual harassment and abuse stories on social media. While #MeToo has empowered women, men, trans and queer survivors to speak out about their experiences of abuse, lawyers across the globe have got rich and busy. Like every progressive movement for change, there has been cultural and legal backlash. Those brave enough to speak out have faced legal threats from those they accuse in courts that protect the powerful and the patriarchy. What happens when the law that is meant to protect us is, instead, used to silence? Rich, privileged and powerful men have teams of lawyers at their disposal to suppress allegations and prevent newspaper stories from running. Individual women, frontline services, advocacy groups and journalists find themselves fighting against censorship. The weaponising of the law to silence survivors from speaking about their abuse, and anyone who might report on it, has been described as the 'perverse twist' of MeToo. Leading human rights barristers Jennifer Robinson and Dr Keina Yoshida set out to investigate this global problem, drawing on the high-profile cases they have worked on and interviews with survivors of abuse. How Many More Women? will show readers just how difficult the law makes it for women to report their abuse, the impact it has on free speech and how survivors around the world can fight back.

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9781804190227

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Reviews

A stunning book; as vital as it is compelling. A powerful warning about how the justice system can be used to silence women, and why urgent change is needed: a must-read for women and allies alike. -- Harriet Johnson * author of Enough: The Violence Against Women and How to End It (2022) * 'The nature of law is that it is made and secured by those who have power, which is why women are are still battering at its doors. This book is another brick through the windows of our legal systems: a brilliant, trenchant analysis of what is wrong with the law.' -- Baroness Helena Kennedy KC This important book demonstrates how man-made laws and legal procedures bear down harshly and unfairly on women who try to exercise their free speech rights to complain about domestic violence and abuse. At a time when reform of defective laws of defamation and confidentiality is being considered in many English-speaking countries, the injustices eloquently described by these authors deserve special attention. Theirs is a book that should be read - with shame - by judges and politicians and with appreciation by news editors, journalists, and all concerned to enhance freedom of speech. -- Geoffrey Robertson KC * barrister, former UN judge and author * How Many Women? lays bare the many ways women are silenced around the world. In forensic detail with real cases, Robinson and Yoshida show how far the law is trailing behind the zeitgeist of MeToo. The sheer scale of the problem is shocking - if you are a woman who likes to express your views, you need to read this book. If anyone can change things, in court or through the pages of this powerful book, it is these two fearless feminist lawyers. -- Dr Susie Alegre * author of Freedom to Think (2022) * Witty, gritty, insightful and true, this book is essential reading for all women. Robinson and Yoshida lay down the law, on law, in an accessible way, giving us the ammunition we need, not just to protect ourselves, but to go out there and win. -- Kathy Lette * bestselling author *

A stunning book; as vital as it is compelling. A powerful warning about how the justice system can be used to silence women, and why urgent change is needed: a must-read for women and allies alike. -- Harriet Johnson * author of Enough: The Violence Against Women and How to End It (2022) * This important book demonstrates how man-made laws and legal procedures bear down harshly and unfairly on women who try to exercise their free speech rights to complain about domestic violence and abuse. At a time when reform of defective laws of defamation and confidentiality is being considered in many English-speaking countries, the injustices eloquently described by these authors deserve special attention. Theirs is a book that should be read - with shame - by judges and politicians and with appreciation by news editors, journalists, and all concerned to enhance freedom of speech. -- Geoffrey Robertson KC * barrister, former UN judge and author * How Many Women? lays bare the many ways women are silenced around the world. In forensic detail with real cases, Robinson and Yoshida show how far the law is trailing behind the zeitgeist of MeToo. The sheer scale of the problem is shocking - if you are a woman who likes to express your views, you need to read this book. If anyone can change things, in court or through the pages of this powerful book, it is these two fearless feminist lawyers. -- Dr Susie Alegre * author of Freedom to Think (2022) * Witty, gritty, insightful and true, this book is essential reading for all women. Robinson and Yoshida lay down the law, on law, in an accessible way, giving us the ammunition we need, not just to protect ourselves, but to go out there and win. -- Kathy Lette * bestselling author *

Author Information

Jennifer Robinson (Author) Jennifer Robinson is a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London. Jennifer has represented survivors, journalists, media organisations, advocacy and frontline services organisations on free speech and media law issues. Her clients have included the BBC, the New York Times, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), Julian Assange and WikiLeaks. She has advised high-profile women who have spoken out about their experience of gender-based violence, including Rose McGowan and Amber Heard, and assisted journalists to break #MeToo stories. Jennifer has given expert evidence at the UN and appeared in cases before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and regional human rights courts. Jennifer has written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian, Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, Sydney Morning Herald and Vogue. Keina Yoshida (Author) Dr Keina Yoshida is a human rights barrister at Doughty Street Chambers in London. Keina has represented victims and survivors of abuse in different legal proceedings, including in judicial reviews and in the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse. Keina is also an academic at the Centre for Women, Peace and Security at the LSE and sits on the editorial board of the journal Feminist Legal Studies. Keina's publications include Feminist Conversations on Peace (Bristol University Press, 2022) as well as academic journal articles in the European Human Rights Law Review, Human Rights Quarterly and International Affairs.

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