Grievance Formation, Rights and Remedies: Involuntary Sterilisation and Castration in the Nordics, 1930s-2020s

by Daniela Alaattinoglu

Overview

In the last century, the treatment of victims of involuntary sterilisation and castration in Nordic countries has varied drastically from state-to-state, across time and victim groups. Considering why this is the case, Daniela Alaattinoğlu investigates how laws and practices of involuntary, surgical sterilisation and castration have been established, abolished and remedied in three Nordic states: Sweden, Norway and Finland. Employing a vast range of primary and secondary sources, Alaattinoğlu traces the national and international developments of the last 100 years. Developing the concept of grievance formation, the book explores why some states have claimed public responsibility while others have not, and why some victim groups have mobilised while others have remained silent. Through this pioneering analysis, Alaattinoğlu illuminates issues of human and constitutional rights, the evolution of the welfare state and state responsibility in both a national and global context.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781009171687
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	08/24/2023
Series:	Law in Context
Pages:	280
Product dimensions:	6.89(w) x 9.84(h) x 0.79(d)

About the Author

Daniela Alaattinoğlu is an Icelandic Research Fund Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Iceland and a Senior Researcher at the University of Turku. She has held visiting fellowships at the Åbo Akademi Institute for Human Rights, the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology and the University of Melbourne. She is the co-editor of Contesting Feminicide: Feminism and the Power of Law Revisited (2019).

Table of Contents

Prologue: Eugenics and the control of reproduction and sexuality; Part I. Developing Rights and Wrongs; 1. Victims, harms and grievance formation; Part II. A Question of Rights; 2. A master frame of rights – involuntary sterilisation and castration in international law; 3. Sweden – Remedies with limited legal recognition of responsibility; 4. Norway – 'ethnic cleansing'?; 5. Finland –-silence; Part III. Rights Framing and Grievance Formation; 6. From harms to remedies?; 7. Law and society in change; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

‘Alaattinoğlu’s book is essential reading for anyone interested in the regulation of reproductive health. Sterilisation and castration have been used as means of eugenic population control and as restrictions to gender recognition. In both respects, it is important to understand the legal and social processes that have led to their abolition.’ Johanna Niemi, University of Helsinki

‘That we have had to wait for so long to have a book like this is a mystery. The Nordic countries, often taken to showcase gender equality milestones, are finally under scrutiny for their serious violations of reproductive rights with practices such as castration and forced sterilization of those considered deviant and unworthy. International law, too, so poorly equipped to respond to such expropriation of the reproductive capacity, under review. Thorough, textured, precise, and much needed.’ Ruth Rubio-Marín, University of Seville

‘This is an important contribution to the discussion of trans rights, law and legal theory. While focused on the Nordic countries, this book should be read by everyone that has an interest in human rights and remedies against violations of human rights.’ Mårten Schultz, Stockholm University

‘An equally excellent book for scholars and practitioners interested in gender and law, as it is for those interested in legal history and detailed analysis of the interaction between national, regional and international law.’ Sari Kouvo, Nordic Journal of Human Rights

From the Publisher