Tides and Crossroads: The Gender Era of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights

By: Rosa Celorio

PDF: Tides and Crossroads

This Article focuses on the recent era of jurisprudence issued by the Inter-American Court of Human Rights on women’s rights and gender equality issues. It discusses the recent tide of the court towards matters concerning women and gender equality, which has led to critical transformations in the carving of regional human rights legal standards. The court has capably transitioned from a civil and political rights tribunal to one that is clearly gender driven, as is widely reflected in its rulings during the last two decades.

During this new phase, the court has crystalized legal standards in seven areas: i) due diligence in cases of violence against women, ii) sexual violence as torture, iii) intersectional discrimination, iv) autonomy and consent in sexual and reproductive rights, v) violence and discrimination against girls, vi) sexual orientation and gender identity, and vii) gender stereotypes. The court has established a broad array of principles in these realms employing a symbiotic interpretation of the American Convention on Human Rights—the main regional human rights treaty in the Americas—and the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, the Organization of American States’s most ratified specialized treaty. This Article discusses key legal concepts and state obligations advanced in these decisions, as well as critical advisory opinions and provisional measures in the areas of women’s rights and gender equality.

Despite these noteworthy developments, this Article contends that the Inter-American Court is at a crossroads, given its surprising 2024 ruling in the case of Beatriz and others v. El Salvador, in which the court missed a unique opportunity to expand its legal standards related to sexual and reproductive rights. The court can either choose to move forward and be bold on gender issues, particularly in controversial areas, or it can opt to become more moderate in its rulings based on consversative tendencies.

This Article also offers recommendations to the Inter-American Court on legal standards that can be developed in the future, considering modern challenges that affect women in the Americas; such as emerging forms of violence, ongoing intersectional discrimination, barriers to leadership and participation, restrictions to access sexual and reproductive rights, environmental degradation and climate change, the rights of women in the digital world, and democratic backsliding, among others.

This Article is part of a series of papers closely studying the work of regional human rights courts and opportunities to develop legal standards that are effective in responding to contemporary problems women face.