My-chOICe: investigating affirmative, voluntary, Ongoing and Informed Consent to prevent and combat gender-based violence

Objective

Through interdisciplinary research in international human rights law and sociology, the overall objective of the project is to investigate the notion of consent and the different approaches which have emerged in legal systems to frame consent. The research aims at developing a methodological framework to address consent through a human rights-based approach, framing it as a paradigmatic principle that prevents and eradicates gender-based inequalities and dismantles patriarchal structures in the context of rape and sexual violence, ICT-facilitated and reproductive violence. The goals towards which this project strives are, from a carrier-oriented perspective, to consolidate the researcher’s position as an independent scholar, able to carry out large research projects and to provide a comprehensive work which could be the starting point for wider research on consent laws, for example, as basis for an ERC grant application. From a social perspective, to build and foster a culture of consent. Ultimately, the research aims to propose changes to be implemented in the EU legislation (an amendment to Directive 2024/1385 on Combating Gender Based Violence and Domestic Violence) and in the wider European regional framework (an additional protocol to the Istanbul Convention (IC) of the Council of Europe) through policy recommendations for international and European institutions. The research will be carried out at the University of Zurich (UZH - Switzerland) under the supervision of Professor Alice Margaria, with secondment periods at the University of Gothenburg (GU - Sweden), with Professor Sarah Uhnoo, and at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice (CF - Italy) with Professor Sara De Vido.