leitner center events, Sexual Assault, Human Rights, and the US Military

Sexual Assault, Human Rights, and the US Military
October 20, 2015 12:30PM - 1:30PM
Location: Room 4-09, Fordham Law School, 150 W. 62nd St. New York, NY 10023
Contact: Zach Hudson | zhudson1@law.fordham.edu

Brown Bag Lunch Series

Speaker: Sara Darehshori, Senior Counsel, US Program, Human Rights Watch

Sexual assault in the US military and the failure to bring those responsible to justice has received considerable attention in recent years. Less well-known is that most victims have to choose between reporting their assaults and keeping their careers. The majority of victims who report sexual assault face retaliation, which can take the form of physical and psychological abuse, poor performance evaluations, disciplinary actions, criminal charges or discharge from service. Mechanisms that should protect survivors from retaliation has failed them and no one is held accountable for abusive treatment of victims. Sara Darehshori, Senior Counsel in the US Program at Human Rights Watch, will discuss these issues and her work at Human Rights Watch at this event.

Sara Darehshori, senior counsel in the US program at Human Rights Watch, researches and advocates on issues relating to the handling of sexual assault cases in the United States. Her most recent work in Washington, DC, where she documented DC police’s failure to properly investigate scores of sexual assault cases, helped lead to the Sexual Assault Victims Rights Amendment Act of 2014, landmark legislation improving police response to sexual assault in the District of Columbia.

Prior to joining the US program, Darehshori was senior counsel in Human Rights Watch’s International Justice program, where she worked on international justice issues relating to Darfur, Serbia, and the International Criminal Court. During her time at Human Rights Watch, Darehshori has written reports, news releases, and briefing papers on topics including Sudan’s special courts for Darfur, Serbia’s War Crimes Chamber, the Slobodan Milosevic trial, the Iraqi High Tribunal, and the long-term relationship between peace and justice. Before joining Human Rights Watch, Darehshori worked as a prosecutor in the first trial at the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and as a corporate litigator in New York. Darehshori has also worked in South Africa and for the International Rescue Committee in Croatia, Sudan, and Sierra Leone. She is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School.

Kosher pizza will be served.

Brown Bag Lunch Series



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Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
Fordham University School of Law
150 West 62nd Street, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10023 USA

Email: LeitnerCenter@law.fordham.edu
Telephone: 212.636.6862
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Faculty and Staff
Tracy Higgins
Professor of Law
Co-Director, Leitner Center for International Law and Justice
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