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Lisa Boswell Sharlach

Associate Professor, Political Science, University of Alabama at Birmingham

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About Lisa

Sharlach's subfields are comparative politics (with a regional emphasis on Africa), international relations, and women's studies. The focus of her research is the intersection of ethnicity, gender, and political violence (particularly terrorism, torture, and genocide).

Contributions

In the News

"Covenants without the Sword: International Humanitarian Law (IHL) and Sexual Violence," Lisa Boswell Sharlach, Institute for Human Rights, March 8, 2018.

Publications

"States of Emergency, States of Terror: Sexual Violence in the South African and Peruvian Counterinsurgencies" Journal of Power 2, no. 3 (2009): 441-460.

Discusses how rape has functioned as terror and torture inflicted by men of the security forces of the apartheid and Peruvian states upon women of disempowered ethnic groups during counterinsurgency operations.

"Rape as Social Policy" in Global Encyclopedia of Public Administration, Public Policy, and Governance, edited by Ali Farazmand (Springer, 2016).

Discusses how governmental actions, laws, and policies encouraging or overlooking rape have a direct and deleterious impact on the well-being of citizens, especially those of less powerful social groups.

"State Regulation of Rape Insurance in India and South Africa" International Journal of Politics and Good Governance 1, no. 3 (2010).

Examines rape insurance schemes in India and South Africa. Concludes that rape insurance would collectively do women more harm than good.