SXLN Curriculum:
Social Movements
Sexual Rights Litigation Network
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The Sexual Rights Litigation Network (SXLN) curriculum has been redesigned to provide targeted support for social movements and lawyers working on SOGIE related issues. The curriculum is divided into two focus areas, with one for social movements and the other for lawyers, each spanning over a three-year period. Three visits will be conducted by ISLA in each year to cover the three modules for the year. A needs assessment is also conducted at the start of each year. The focus area for social movements covers the following topics:
Key: (X) = Legal Mobilisation; (Y) = Thematic Right; (Z) = Institutional Strengthening
YEAR ONE
Module 1
- Introduction to the Sexual Rights Litigation Network: This topic provides an overview of the SXLN and its mission to support movements using strategic litigation as a tool for achieving social change. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (X) Introduction to Strategic Litigation: This topic covers the principles of strategic litigation and how to develop a strategic litigation campaign. It enhances the movement’s knowledge and understanding of strategic litigation and builds an appreciation of conditions, strategies and tactics for defending and enforcing human rights. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (X) Introduction to Sexuality and Human Rights: This topic covers the relationship between sexuality and human rights, including the criminalization of same-sex relations and the decriminalization of homosexuality. It is meant to enhance the movement’s understanding of sexuality and gender identity; create space for discussion to safely inquire about and unpack sexuality; and enhance the movement’s knowledge of sexual rights as a legal framework. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (X) Introduction to Constitutional Law: This topic covers constitutional law and its relevance to SOGIE rights, including the practice and the procedures involved in litigating constitutional issues in their jurisdiction; and understanding how their country’s constitution / bill of rights can protect sexual rights. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Z) Institutional Strengthening: This institutional strengthening session is a one-on-one inter-session work with movement partners. It will introduce the network to the management of partner institutions; understand the partner’s human rights work; and review the possibility of integrating network activities.
Module 2
- (X) Incremental Approach: This topic covers the incremental approach to achieving social change through strategic litigation. The course enhances movement understanding of the historical developments that led to creation of the incremental approach and helps to build an appreciation for what the incremental approach is and how the network will can utilise it in litigation cases. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Y) Right to Non-Discrimination: This topic covers the right to non-discrimination and its relevance to SOGIE rights. It enhances the movement’s understanding of how discrimination manifest in various contexts; builds an appreciation of the elements of a discrimination claim for the purpose of pursuing litigation; and expands knowledge of comparative discrimination jurisprudence regionally and internationally. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Z) Institutional strengthening: This institutional strengthening session focuses on the practical aspects of completing quarterly workplans for strategic litigation and integrating the strategic litigation documentation into existing documentations mechanisms.
Module 3
- (X) Creating an Enabling Environment to Litigate: This topic covers strategies for creating an enabling environment for strategic litigation including the constitutional and legal environment; the political environment; and the social advocacy environment. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Y) Right to Freedom of Association: This topic covers the right to freedom of association and its relevance to SOGIE rights, including the legal recognition of LGBTIQ+ organizations. It helps to build familiarity with regional and comparative African jurisprudence on the right to freedom of association and to establish an understanding of the principles guiding legal interpretation of the right of association.
(Z) Institutional strengthening: This session assesses the partners’ role and capacity to do strategic litigation and human rights work, as well as providing support for case identification and follow-up.
YEAR TWO
Module 1
- (X) The Role of Social Movements in Strategic Litigation: This topic covers the relationship between social movements and strategic litigation including familiarising the movement with all the actors who impact strategic litigation and a discussion around the considerations of whether to litigate and the impact of such choices. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Y) Freedom from Violence & Due Diligence: This topic covers the right to freedom from violence and the State’s due diligence to protect the rights of marginalized groups. It equips movements: with an understanding of the state obligation to protect from violence; to build an appreciation of the various due diligence principles; and to expand knowledge of how to recognize when due diligence principle is violated. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Z) Institutional strengthening: In this session the movement partners will be paired with lawyers from the SXLN.
Module 2
- (X) Assessment of Readiness to Litigate: This topic covers how to assess the readiness of a movement to engage in strategic litigation. It looks at issues such as assessing the political orientation of advocates; assessing the country context for strategic litigation; and selecting and litigating priority cases. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (X) Unmasking Depoliticization: This topic covers the depoliticization of SOGIE rights and strategies to resist this. It covers and introduction to depoliticization in the context of civil society; the delegitimization of human rights language; the delegitimization of LGBTIQ+ persons; and the necessity for shared frameworks by civil society. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Y) Right to Health: This topic covers the right to health and its relevance to SOGIE rights, including access to healthcare for marginalized groups, including showing how SOGIE based violations of the right to health manifest and building familiarity with the cases brought by other activists in various jurisdictions on the right to health. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Z) Institutional strengthening: This session focuses on the availability of human resources for strategic litigation and the integration of strategic litigation work into the organisational work.
Module 3
- (X) Unmasking Depoliticization II: This topic covers the depoliticization of SOGIE rights and strategies to resist this. It covers and introduction to depoliticization in the context of civil society; the delegitimization of human rights language; the delegitimization of LGBTIQ+ persons; and the necessity for shared frameworks by civil society. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Y) Harassment: This topic covers the concept of harassment and its relevance to SOGIE rights. The topic establishes an understanding of what constitutes SOGIE based harassment; expands knowledge of the emerging jurisprudence protecting victims of SOGIE based harassment; and shows how to identify when state harassment is a human rights violation and how to strategically challenge the practice. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (X) Case development process: This session will discuss: the sources of cases; referral of individual cases to the network; role clarification of partners (ISLA, Local co-ordinating partner, lawyers); funding; identification of legal issues; mobilisation of key constituencies (human rights groups, bar association, political elite, affected community); as well as media and communications through signal boosting and amplifying.
- (Z) Institutional strengthening: This session will review the resource mobilisation plan of movement partners.
YEAR THREE
Module 1
- (X) Development of national litigation workplan: In this session, participants will be guided on developing a workplan for strategic litigation in their national contexts.
- (Y) Right to Privacy: This topic covers the right to privacy and its relevance to SOGIE rights, including the criminalization of same-sex relations and the decriminalization of homosexuality. Participants will gain an understanding of the principles guiding meaning of the right to privacy and bodily autonomy; develop an understanding of the right to privacy’s intersection with other fundamental rights, such as the rights to dignity, non-discrimination and equality; and build familiarity with international, regional and comparative African jurisprudence on the right to privacy in relation to SOGIE. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (Z) Institutional strengthening: In this session, participants will be guided on the implementation of their work plans and their case updates will be reviewed.
Module 2
- (Y) Criminal Defence: This topic covers the principles of criminal defence and how to develop a defence strategy in their countries. It covers issues such as the sources and scope of criminal law; the relationship of criminal law to SOGIE rights; the criminal justice process and the advocacy strategy. DOWNLOAD TOPIC OUTLINE
- (X) Update/assessing communication mechanisms
- (Z) Institutional Strengthening: In this session, participants will be guided on the implementation of their work plans and their case updates will be reviewed.
Module 3
- (X) Beyond the litigation institute: This session provides participants with a shared understanding of their roles beyond the litigation institute.
- Assessment & Evaluation
(Z) Institutional Strengthening: This session evaluates the social movement partners and their capacity to undertake strategic litigation following the learnings from the institute.
This curriculum is designed to provide social movements with the skills and knowledge necessary to effectively engage in strategic litigation and advance SOGIE rights in their communities. It covers a wide range of topics, including legal principles, human rights, and strategies for creating an enabling environment for strategic litigation. The curriculum is supported by ISLA over a three-year period, after which movements should be able to operate independently and sustain their work.
About Us
Founded in 2014, the Initiative for Strategic Litigation in Africa (ISLA) is a Pan-African and feminist initiative with a timely remit: to strengthen strategic human rights litigation across the African continent. Essentially, we aim to change the way that strategic litigation is used so as to enable broader access to justice and to support those who seek to hold states accountable for violations of women’s human rights and sexual rights.
Contact Details
Contact Number:
+27 11 338 9028
Fax: +27 11 338 9029
Address: 87 de Korte Street,
South Point Corner, 7th Floor Braamfontein, 2017 Gauteng, South Africa