Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

Sexuality, International Human Rights, and Therapeutic JurisprudenceMichael L. Perlin, New York Law School (mperlin@nyls.edu)One of the most controversial social policy issues is the sexual autonomy of persons withpsychosocial and intellectual disabilities. This population – always marginalized and stigmatized– has traditionally faced a double set of conflicting prejudices: on one hand, this population isinfantilized (as not being capable of having the same range of sexual desires, needs andexpectations as persons without disabilities), and on the other, it is demonized (as beinghypersexual, unable to control base or primitive urges). These attitudes have been in place forcenturies; perhaps the most famous characterization remains US Supreme Court Justice OliverWendell Holmes’s line in Buck v. Bell, a case involving sterilization of a woman allegedlyintellectually disabled: “Three generations of imbeciles are enough.”The ratification of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) demandswe reconsider this issue, in light of Convention Articles mandating, inter alia, "respect forinherent dignity" (Article 3), the elimination of discrimination in all matters related tointerpersonal relationships (Article 23), services in the area of sexual and reproductive health(Article 26). Yet, the literature has been remarkably silent on this issue in general (forexceptions, see Schaaf, 2011; Stein & Lord; Sabatello, 2010), and totally silent about the issue Iwill discuss in my paper: the CRPD’s impact on the rights of persons institutionalized because ofpsychosocial or intellectual disability to sexual autonomy.My presentation will (1) review the history of how the significant legal and social issues havebeen ignored and trivialized by legislators, policy makers and the general public, (2) consider themeager case law on this subject, (3) highlight those sections of the CRPD that force us toreconsider the scope of this issue, (4) offer some suggestions as to how ratifying and signatorystates must change domestic policy so as to comport with CRPD mandates, and (5) consider theimplications of therapeutic jurisprudence insights for the resolution of these issues.Is Therapeutic Jurisprudence an Option Available to China's Criminal JusticeSystem?James Gronquist, Charlotte School of Law (jgronquist@charlottelaw.edu)Can China, a state controlled hierarchical society find a way to utilize the precepts of therapeuticjurisprudence that has been developing in primarily egalitarian societies. The Chinesegovernment continues to view law as a means of authoritarian control over its citizens.However, since the implementation of "law" in China in the late 1970's, the written law hastended to support the rights of individuals against the power of the one party system and itsinterest in maintaining its control over a sometimes restive society. That written law with its450