Having control of one’s body and one’s mind – also called self-ownership – is, I believe, the most basic human right anyone can have. Mill summed up it nicely in On Liberty: “Over one’s mind and over one’s body the individual is sovereign” – although he did (rightly so) allow for exceptions involving actions which…
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The amendments made to the Policing and Crime Act (2009) mean that all forms of public solicitation (‘kerb-crawling’ or being in public, looking to sell or pay for sex) are illegal. According to the present law, one prostitute may work from indoor premises, but no more; otherwise the place is considered a brothel. The law…
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There is some debate as to whether Islamophobia is a valid term. Strictly speaking, it means an irrational fear or unfounded prejudice against Islam, but in its more widely used context, it means an irrational fear or hatred towards Muslims. In 1997, the British Runnymede Trust first defined Islamophobia as the “dread or hatred of…
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Sweatshops entail long hours with no breaks, terrible working conditions, a disgracefully low pay, abuse from employers and sometimes, worst of all, an abuse of child labour laws. Sweatshops are responsible for violating these workers’ human rights and for breaching laws relating to overtime and minimum wage. Some of the human rights that sweatshops breach,…
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Gary L. Francione is an animal rights philosopher who teaches at Rutgers School of Law. In all of his works and lectures, he champions a belief in animal rights, not animal welfare. He has distanced himself from the most famous ethicist, Peter Singer, who Francione calls an advocate of animal welfare. An advocate of animal…
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