Written by Max Karakul, 2023 School of Law graduate
I am proud of the work that I have been able to do with the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration and thankful for the opportunity to do it. I am proud of the work because it is the kind of global, impactful work that I hoped to be able to do once I finished law school.
I didn’t have to wait that long.
Last spring and summer, I worked on a project to create a database of national court cases from all over the world that address conflict-related sexual violence. This fall, I helped edit the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court’s revised policies on gender-based crimes and on children. Both projects will improve access to justice for victims and survivors of international crimes. They will help prosecutors successfully bring cases against perpetrators. They will ensure that victims and survivors are treated well, given the opportunity to speak, and remain at the center of the process from beginning to end. In short, both projects will help people. I am delighted that, through this center, I have contributed to work that is going to make a difference.
I am thankful for the opportunities I have had through the center because they gave me the chance to do interdisciplinary work. I met with public health practitioners, social workers, open-source data analysts, and physicians who worked in areas of conflict, among other experts. I learned a lot from them: new research methods, new policy perspectives, and a better understanding of how legal work interacts with other fields in practice. I am a better advocate and a better coworker because of their interdisciplinary approach.
2023 has been a great year for me because of the center and the work I have done there. I am sure that 2024 will be just as great for me and for others who work with the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration.