Ayla do Vale Alves, Adelaide University, will speak on Women's Rights in Latin American Family Law in the Helsinki Legal History Series seminar on June 2:
The legal history of women’s rights in Latin American family law is deeply shaped by religious influence. Approaching this history from a human rights lens, the Catholic doctrine guided much of early constitutional law and civil codes regulating rights of the family in the region. These foundations helped entrench patriarchal family structures that limited women’s rights, particularly in relation to marriage, property ownership, parental authority, and reproductive autonomy. Over time, the Inter-American System of Human Rights has played a transformative role in challenging these conservative doctrines and elevating women’s rights. Now, there is return of extreme conservative religious views affecting women’s rights in the region and how the System will react to these evolving dynamics, and whether its decisions will retain influence over family protection in Latin America, remains an open question.Time: 15:00-16:30, Tuesday 2.6.2026. Location: Päärakennus, U4075, University Main Building (Fabiankatu 33). Online [here].
--Dan Ernst
