By Daphne Ho
WASHINGTON, DC – Georgetown Law, a law school in Washington D.C., has created the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity, directly connected to its initiative from the Center on Poverty and Inequality (see this).
This center, said Georgetown, “will… deepen the reach and impact of its gender equity and racial justice work as it pursues its mission of working to eliminate gender and racial disparities in education, healthcare, and the justice system.” It seeks to platform “the voices and experiences of girls and women.”
Rebecca Epstein, the Executive Director of the new center, said “we are proud to announce our growth as an independent Center within Georgetown Law and appreciate the support of our colleagues, partners, and funders with this advancement.”
Epstein added, “The mission of our research, policy, and practice remains steadfast, in service of a just world where all girls and women have equal opportunity to thrive.” She describes that “voices and experiences [are] at the center of our work.”
“The Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law has worked across multiple areas of focus…over the past decade,” according to a law school statement.
The notes some of these focuses: “the school to prison pipeline for girls,” “sexual abuse and other forms of trauma that girls uniquely experience,” “barriers to healthcare access,” “restorative justice as an innovative alternative,” and “adultification bias against Black girls.”
Their work in these issues and more has resulted in many accolades, including the 2017 report “Girlhood Interrupted: The Erasure of Black Girls’ Childhood” and “Criminalized Survivors: Today’s Abuse to Prison Pipeline for Girls,” which will be published in April 2023.
Georgetown said the center “works to uncover and eliminate gender and racial disparities across public systems — including education, healthcare, and the legal system,” supported by “the lived experiences of girls and women…in service of a just world where all girls experience a childhood that is truly free.”
