The GenDJus Final Conference - (DE)CONSTRUCTING GENDER IN INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL DISCOURSE: ACTORS, NORMS AND PRACTICES
The GenDJus Final Conference
(DE)CONSTRUCTING GENDER IN INTERNATIONAL JUDICIAL DISCOURSE:
ACTORS, NORMS AND PRACTICES
16 – 17 October 2025
SSLMIT/IUSLIT, University of Trieste
Key information
- Conference date: Thursday 16 and Friday 17 October 2025
- Venue: SSLMIT/IUSLIT, University of Trieste, via Filzi 14, Trieste
- Registration fee: none
- Registration link: https://forms.microsoft.com/e/DaEv4JEBw6
- Languages: English, Italian, Spanish
The Department of Legal, Language, Translation and Interpreting Studies (IUSLIT) of the University of Trieste hosts a two-day international conference to explore gendered discursive practices in international judicial language and their consequences on the scope of human rights protections. The conference is the final event of the interdisciplinary research project “Rights and Prejudice: Linguistic and Legal Implications of Gendered Discourses in Judicial Spaces (GenDJus),” financed by the Italian Ministry of Education and the European Union (Next Generation EU funding scheme) [www.gendjus.it].
In the era of polarisation of debates, anti-gender movements, and populist anti-rights rhetoric, the power of language is clearer than ever. Sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and sex characteristics are among the most salient themes in those contexts, especially where these substantiate claims for individual protection. To this end, international human rights law constitutes one of the possible devices that societies deploy to ensure egalitarian values. But what does it mean to deal with gender through the language of human rights? How do international legal norms understand gender, and its connected categories? To what extent can international and EU legal actors, including judges, speak the language of human rights despite their possible personal prejudices, stereotypes and biases? How can gendered judicial discourse impact on the enjoyment of human rights? More broadly, what can make gender an analytical category to understand discursive constructions in international and EU judicial decisions? The conference will explore these and other questions about the premises and effects of gendered language in the practices of international and EU judicial actors. It will gather scholars working on gender in legal discourse across areas as diverse as linguistics, translation, law and, more generally, social sciences.
This conference is the final event (milestone 12) of the interdisciplinary research project “Rights and Prejudice: Linguistic and Legal Implications of Gendered Discourses in Judicial Spaces (GenDJus)” [P2022FNH9B / CUP J53D23017220001] financed by the Italian Ministry of Education and the European Union (Next Generation EU funding scheme); Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Resilienza (PNRR) – Missione 4 "Istruzione e ricerca" – Componente 2 "Dalla ricerca all’impresa" - Investimento 1.1, Avviso Prin 2022 PNRR indetto con Decreto Direttoriale n. 1409 del 14 settembre 2022. https://www.gendjus.it/
Contact details
For more information, please contact Giovanna Gilleri (giovanna.gilleri@units.it) and Chiara Sarni (chiara.sarni@units.it) and follow us on Instagram (@gendjusproject).
Organising Committee
Gianluca Pontrandolfo (University of Trieste), Giovanna Gilleri (University of Trieste), Chiara Sarni (University of Trieste).
Scientific Committee
Marco Balboni (University of Bologna), Emanuele Brambilla (University of Trieste), Carmelo Danisi (University of Bologna), Giovanna Gilleri (University of Trieste), Erika Miyamoto (University of Bologna), Giuseppe Pascale (University of Trieste), Katia Peruzzo (University of Trieste), Gianluca Pontrandolfo (University of Trieste), Francesca Ragno (University of Bologna), Chiara Sarni (University of Trieste).
Programme
The programme of the conference is available here
Book of Abstracts
The Book of Abstracts of the conference is available here
Registration
Click here to register to the conference!