Eve Was Framed: Women and British Justice

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This book will explain to you how the British Justice system fails women. Helena Kennedy QC (Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws, QC) uses an approachable vocabulary that makes sense to those without legal knowledge. In the book, she explains the basics of the work of the British law courts, hence I recommend this book to everyone interested in politics, feminism, and to everyone who wants to research the problem of inequality. Such brief basics will be helpful to a first-year law student since it helps you to approach law in a more rounded way. Most of this book concerns how stereotypes about women operate in the law, particularly in criminal justice. These can be exploited by one side or the other: women willing and able to present themselves as virtuous and devoted wives and mothers will be smiled on by the court (especially if white). Women are considered to be family glue rather than actual humans: We're on a mission to help more women learn about themselves and the companies trying to put control of our health into our own hands through sharing our own personal journeys. We hope you'll come with us!

Kennedy more or less fell into the law and the training for the Bar could only have been less hospitable to her if she hadn't been white. At the Inns of Court, she describes an overwhelmingly male and overtly misogynistic environment steeped in bizarre ritual. The percentage of women in the profession was small and confined to the lower ranks, with hardly any women ascending to the bench (becoming judges). The statistics were even more dire for people of colour whether female or male. Founders Halle Tecco and Julia Cheek of Everly Health shared thought leadership on how to define women’s health. They were told women’s health is “niche”. Hmmm, “niche” for 50% of the world’s population. We love their take on this topic and will be further exploring our own definition. We want to hear from you too. There’ll be an opportunity in the coming weeks for this community to help us define it.

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In particular, I enjoyed Kennedy’s imaginary court procedure: Eve is being tried for causing of the Fall of Man because she ate from the forbidden tree in the Garden of Eden. Kennedy envisages the speech for the prosecution, the defence’s response, and wittily comments “transportation from Paradise is one thing, but a sentence of eternal damnation when the conviction has to be based on the uncorroborated testimony of a co-accused must surely constitute a breach of human rights!” The Tasting Menu.Topics each week to learn more about your body and health. Remember that Pelvic Floor question?That’s one of the topics we’ll cover.Your time is valuable. We’re doing the reading and sharing the knowledge As I moved through my later forties and perimenopause symptoms began, I asked my doctor about ways to alleviate them. Menopause tea, supplements, and cooling sheets. Seriously? And no one I knew was talking about it.

I read this book in the summer before I applied to university because I was hoping to find something that was different to the books that give you a general introduction to law. This was definitely different. Now that I have started studying the subject, I still find myself reflecting on some of the propositions she puts forward. In particular, she often talks about how most judges are completely out of touch with the general population, which can definitely impact their judgement. Particularly when I read old cases, I certainly see what she means! Sexuality was briefly referenced, but there was no reference to the complexities of gender in terms of trans and non-binary people's experiences, or to the experiences of disabled women who are also disproportionately likely to experience violence. I also found the constant references to 'battered women' very uncomfortable, but I also appreciate that this book was written in the 90s when the term was commonly used. I'd be interested to see if she's dropped that term in her recent follow up Eve Was Shamed: How British Justice is Failing Women. Keep in mind what Eve sees for herself after the snake hisses in her ear that if you eat the forbidden fruit, “You will not die…[rather,] your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God” — meaning like an adult. Adults, after all, can appear quite godlike sometimes to young children. And like an innocent child, Eve had probably never previously dared to go anywhere near the forbidden tree — not for any sophisticated adult reason, but because her “God-Parent” said so. But with the serpent’s encouragement, she boldly crosses the boundary put in place by an authority figure, and the Bible itself tells us that she Eve Was Shamed is an important intervention, particularly on the subject of rape. Unlike Germaine Greer, who recently wrote a provocative and alienating book about it, based in part on a set of assumptions I found particularly hard to recognise, Kennedy brings us cold, hard facts about how women are treated by the criminal justice system, including rape victims still expected to answer questions in the vein of: “whether her vagina was naturally lubricated to enable penetration, thereby encouraging the jury to infer that some gratification was being found”.No man is above the law, and no man is below it…” says Roosevelt, reinforcing the importance of upholding the Rule of Law. However, Helena Kennedy’s Eve was Framed (Vintage 1993) will show you that prejudice could be stronger than the rule of law itself, bringing injustice to someone who is “below [the law]”– to women.

Caroline Criado Perez is a writer and feminist activist. Her new book, Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men , will be published by Chatto & Windus in March.In my thirties, my mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s. It was months before doctors took our concerns seriously because she was so young. Profiles will be a place to read about companies doing interesting work in Women’s Health, FemTech, and FamTech.