From the Conference webpage:
The Judicial Language Project, which is the only organization in the country that reviews the language in judicial opinions to assess its impact on victims and society, will sponsor its first conference, “The Troubling Language of Rape: How Eroticism, Gender Myths, and Victim Blaming Affect Social and Legal Discourse,” on Saturday, March 24.
The conference will examine the relationship between language and topics such as sexual violence and gender, rape myths, race and rape, and child sexual abuse. Panelists will include linguists, social scientists, and legal scholars. …
… A project of the law school’s Center for Law and Social Responsibility, the Judicial Language Project identifies and analyzes problematic language in judicial opinions to focus the attention of the judiciary, the bar, community activists, and the public on its harmful impact. Participants hope that their efforts will lead to a reduction in the use of needlessly erotic, sexist, minimizing, or “blaming” language to describe sexually violent behavior and that the changes in language will alter public perceptions of sexual assault. …
The conference is also intended to inform participants about the work of the Judicial Language Project and to build a network among those concerned with these issues.
For more information or to register, please contact Stephanie Sprague at SSprague@admin.nesl.edu or call 617-422-7434. Admission is free, but registration is required; please include your name, affiliation, number attending, and e-mail address.
For directions and parking information, please see http://www.nesl.edu/about/direction.cfm
NB: Speakers include Feminst law Prof Penny Pether!
