Journal Articles by Claire Pierson
Reproductive rights are an under-theorised aspect of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, ... more Reproductive rights are an under-theorised aspect of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda, most clearly typified in United Nations Security Council resolution (UNSCR) 1325 and successive resolutions. Yet reproductive rights are central to women’s security, health and human rights. Although they feature in the 2015 Global Study on 1325, there is less reference to reproductive rights, and to abortion specifically, in the suite of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions themselves, nor in the National Action Plans (NAPs, policy documents created by individual countries to outline their implementation plans for 1325). Through content analysis of all resolutions and NAPs produced to date, this article asks where abortion is in the WPS agenda. It argues that the growing centrality of the WPS agenda to women’s rights in transitioning societies means that a lack of focus on abortion will marginalize the topic and stifle the development of liberal legalization.
Despite the relatively unusual (by global standards) involvement of women in negotiations to the ... more Despite the relatively unusual (by global standards) involvement of women in negotiations to the Good Friday Agreement (GFA), it is generally recognised that gender has been marginalised both in the descriptive and substantive representation of women in conflict transformation. Twenty years after the Agreement, this article discusses and reflects on the implications of the exclusion of gender policy issues both for women and wider society. Within the agreement itself women are only briefly mentioned with regard to political participation, and the institutional structures created from the GFA through their very design deprioritise any identity cleavage which is not ethno-national. In addition to impacting on the representation of women in formal politics, gendered issues such as gender-based violence either become sectarianised or marginalised, but ultimately remain unresolved. The article addresses the potential for developing and creating gender-sensitive policy concluding that processes of civic engagement and mobilisation offer increasing potential to disrupt the limitations of the overarching macro-political institutional structures.
How abortion is dealt with in law and policy is shaped through the multiple political and societa... more How abortion is dealt with in law and policy is shaped through the multiple political and societal discourses on the issue within a particular society. Debate on abortion is constantly in flux, with progressive and regressive movements witnessed globally. This paper examines the translation of human rights norms into discourses on abortion in Northern Ireland, a region where abortion is highly restricted, with extensive contemporary public debate into potential liberalization of abortion law. This paper emanates from research examining political debates on abortion in Northern Ireland and contrasts findings with recent civil society developments, identifying competing narratives of human rights with regard to abortion at the macro-and micro-political level. The paper identifies the complexities of using human rights as a lobbying tool, and questions the utility of rights-based arguments in furthering abortion law reform. The paper concludes that a legalistic rights-based approach may have limited efficacy in creating a more nuanced debate and perspective on abortion in Northern Ireland but that it has particular resonance in arguing for limited reform in extreme cases.
In divided societies gender research has a relatively low profile. In regions where divisions are... more In divided societies gender research has a relatively low profile. In regions where divisions are perceived to be driven by ethnicity, research and activism focused on anything but ethno-nationalism often has difficulty being heard or deemed credible. In such contexts, “minority” issues (discussions around gender, race or class for example) can fail to register in “mainstream” research. We addressed issues such as these at a panel titled “Researching Gender in Divided Societies” at the University of Ulster, Belfast, on 7 November 2014.
Consociational democracy has become the most influential paradigm in the field of power-sharing i... more Consociational democracy has become the most influential paradigm in the field of power-sharing institutional design and post-conflict peacebuilding. Consociation institutes representation for certain formerly excluded groups. However, it simultaneously inhibits effective political representation for groups that do not align with the societal divisions that consociation seeks to accommodate, specifically the 'additional' cleavage of gender. Given the extensive use of the consociational model as a peacebuilding tool in divided states and the growing awareness of the disproportionate negative effect of conflict on women, there is a surprising lack of consideration of the effect that consociational power-sharing has on women's representation. This article considers the specific impact that the consociational model has on women's representation. We argue that because gender is an integral factor in conflict, it should therefore be integral to post-conflict governance. With empirical reference to contemporary Northern Ireland, it is illustrated that consociationalism is a 'gender-blind' theory.
Reports by Claire Pierson
Report , 2021
Findings from a study on healthcare professionals experiences of providing abortion care in Malta.
This all-Ireland study of their members’ views and experiences of abortion as a workplace issue w... more This all-Ireland study of their members’ views and experiences of abortion as a workplace issue was commissioned and funded by five trade unions: Unite the Union, Unison, Mandate Trade Union, the CWU Ireland and the GMB (see below). To our knowledge, it is the first such study in the English-speaking world that examines the impact of highly restricted access to abortion on people in the workplace.
Paper produced for Knowledge Exchange Seminar Series, delivered at Stormont 16.11.16
Report produced for the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council on women's sector work on co... more Report produced for the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council on women's sector work on community relations and women, peace and security.
Online Articles by Claire Pierson
Women from the north and south of Ireland have travelled to England to access abortion services s... more Women from the north and south of Ireland have travelled to England to access abortion services since the advent of the British Abortion Act in 1967 (and before this as single expectant mothers.) Lacking help from health services in either jurisdiction of Ireland, activist networks on these abortion trails have emerged to support the thousands of women travelling (currently approximately 5000 per year) from the island of Ireland. These groups provide financial, logistical and emotional support. This post discusses some initial reflections from researching a specific trail — the Liverpool-Ireland Abortion Corridor — through the lens of historical and contemporary activist movements.
Submission to the Citizen's Assembly in Ireland considering the 8th Amendment.
Organising around a belief in feminism’s ability to articulate and represent visions of peace and... more Organising around a belief in feminism’s ability to articulate and represent visions of peace and politics, a new generation of feminists is emerging to challenge the traditional rigidity of Northern Irish politics.
Presentations by Claire Pierson
An infographic providing evidence to counter common myths about abortion.
Workshop and public discussion hosted as part of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival, Dece... more Workshop and public discussion hosted as part of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Festival, December 2015.
Uploads
Journal Articles by Claire Pierson
Reports by Claire Pierson
Online Articles by Claire Pierson
Presentations by Claire Pierson