SAN FRANCISCO (October 23, 2020) — Dui Hua is excited to announce the opening of the International Symposium on Girls in Conflict with the Law next Tuesday, October 27. This innovative exchange will bring experts together at the intersection of juvenile justice and gender-sensitive policy.
On Tuesday, Managing Attorney of the Juvenile Unit of the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office Patricia Lee will speak about the unprecedented closing of San Francisco’s juvenile hall. Ms. Lee is a co-host of the symposium. The first event also features remarks from Dui Hua Executive Director John Kamm and Taghreed Jaber, the Regional Director for North Africa and the Middle East for Penal Reform International.
The symposium will continue through March 2021 with 12 online panels and presentations featuring some of the world’s foremost experts on juvenile justice from North America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
The symposium functions as a corrective to decades of neglect and ineffective policy. Participants will explore the question of why girls are the fastest growing demographic coming into conflict with the law, and they will examine the disproportionate risks girls face before, during, and after they enter the legal system. Participants will raise awareness on this crisis, exchange best practices, and make recommendations for policy and research.
Partnering with Dui Hua and Patricia Lee are the Centre of Comparative and Public Law and the Centre for Criminology of the University of Hong Kong (HKU), as well as Penal Reform International. The symposium follows the success of several related programs undertaken by Dui Hua, including five juvenile justice exchanges with China’s Supreme People’s Court and the 2014 exchange “Women in Prison: An International Symposium on the Bangkok Rules.”
For more information about the International Symposium on Girls in Conflict with the Law please contact us at duihua (at) duihua (dot) org.