Expert seminar on interdisciplinary research, sex registration and quality of life

On 21 October 2016, ‘GIRARE project’ coordinators Marjolein van den Brink (UCERF & SIM, law) and Christine Quinan (Gender Studies) organised an expert seminar.

Twenty participants with various academic backgrounds (including anthropology, development studies, sociology, political science, sexology, history) from Belgium, France, Germany, Russia, England, Ireland and four Dutch universities, discussed developments in the area of sex categorisations and registration, the do’s and don’ts of interdisciplinary research, and possibilities for funding. All participants expressed their interest in further cooperation, hence one of the follow-up activities that is currently being looked into is a COST application.

The GIRARE (Gender Identity And Human Rights Effects) project explores the effects of changes in the legal regulation of sex on the quality of life of people with varying gender characteristics, gender identities and gender expressions, including those identifying as both trans and cis-gender. The research takes a feminist and queer perspective as its starting point.

The initial phases of the project have been sponsored by the Utrecht University funds Institutions and Cultures, Citizenship and Human Rights.

For more information see the UCERF website, or e-mail: m.vandenbrink@uu.nl or c.l.quinan@uu.nl.