Helena Kennedy
Author of Eve Was Framed: Women and British Justice
About the Author
Works by Helena Kennedy
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Kennedy, Helena
- Legal name
- Kennedy of the Shaws, Baroness
- Other names
- Kennedy, Helena Ann
- Birthdate
- 1950-05-12
- Gender
- female
- Education
- Holyrood R.C. Secondary School
Council of Legal Education - Occupations
- lawyer
television presenter
politician - Organizations
- Labour Party
- Awards and honors
- Royal Society of Arts (Fellow)
Queen's Counsel
Life Peerage (1997) - Short biography
- Baroness Helena Kennedy, QC, was born in Glasgow, Scotland, to a devoutly Roman Catholic working-class family. Her parents were both Labour Party activists; her father was a printer with the Daily Record and a trade union leader. She attended Holyrood Secondary School in Glasgow, and studied law at London's Council of Legal Education. A human rights and civil liberties campaigner, she was an Investigating Commissioner for the EHRC's Human Rights Inquiry into Human Trafficking in Scotland; a commissioner on the National Commission for Education; and a chair of the Human Genetics Commission. She founded her own charity, The Helena Kennedy Foundation, for disadvantaged students. She's married to Iain Hutchison, a surgeon, and has three children. She has written and broadcast on a wide range of issues, from medical negligence to terrorism to the rights of women and children. Her books include Eve Was Framed: Women and British Justice (1993) and Just Law: The Changing Face of Justice and Why It Matters to Us (2004). She was made a life peer as Baroness Kennedy of The Shaws in 1997.
- Nationality
- Scotland
- Birthplace
- Glasgow, Scotland, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
Loch Lomond, Scotland, UK
Glasgow, Scotland, UK - Associated Place (for map)
- Scotland, UK
Members
Reviews
This is a follow up from an earlier book, written at the turn of the century, on the state of women in the justice system called "How Eve was framed". I've not read that, maybe I should.
Helena Kennedy is a KC and has chaired and been involved in many legal commissions and describes herself as a feminist. She is also from a working class Glasgow family and went into law so as not to end up being a teacher. To hear her read her book gets over some of the passion, anger and frustration she show more feels. Frivolously, to hear her say "murder" in that classic Glasgow accent is worth the admission alone!
At one sense it is a depressing listen, the lists of cases of women having been raped, murdered, victimised etc etc etc in each chapter is not at all uplifting. More like anger making. She is fair minded in how she describes progress that has been made, but also points out how the law needs to improve, and that is all elements of the law, the police, the legal profession, judges and law makers are all letting the population down. She makes some very good points about equality and that gender neutral language can disguise behaviour that is heavily gendered, giving a misleading representation of that behaviour.
She brings her own experiences into the book, talking of times she has defended a man against an accusation of rape, for instance, and the mixed emotions that position engenders. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with her on every point, but she is considered, interesting, knowledgeable, informative and fair in her assessments. show less
Helena Kennedy is a KC and has chaired and been involved in many legal commissions and describes herself as a feminist. She is also from a working class Glasgow family and went into law so as not to end up being a teacher. To hear her read her book gets over some of the passion, anger and frustration she show more feels. Frivolously, to hear her say "murder" in that classic Glasgow accent is worth the admission alone!
At one sense it is a depressing listen, the lists of cases of women having been raped, murdered, victimised etc etc etc in each chapter is not at all uplifting. More like anger making. She is fair minded in how she describes progress that has been made, but also points out how the law needs to improve, and that is all elements of the law, the police, the legal profession, judges and law makers are all letting the population down. She makes some very good points about equality and that gender neutral language can disguise behaviour that is heavily gendered, giving a misleading representation of that behaviour.
She brings her own experiences into the book, talking of times she has defended a man against an accusation of rape, for instance, and the mixed emotions that position engenders. I'm not sure I necessarily agree with her on every point, but she is considered, interesting, knowledgeable, informative and fair in her assessments. show less
A chillingly thought provoking study of how modern govenments are undermining our long-established and hard-won freedoms under the law. Since the Blair government came into power there has been a steady erosion of our fundamental democratic rights, changing the relationship between the state and the citizens.
I, and many others, have become increasingly concerned about the rise of electronic surveillance, the enormous growth in legislation resulting in 3000 new criminal offences, the show more increase in police powers, the intention to keep databases of all children in the UK, the proposed reduction in the rights to trial by jury and the removal of the right to silence. The list could go on and on. We are fortunate that Baroness Kennedy - who is herself a formidably powerful voice in this country's legal circles - challenges all these changes in this book. It is essential reading for any member of society who wants to understand what the changing face of British justice means to us all. show less
I, and many others, have become increasingly concerned about the rise of electronic surveillance, the enormous growth in legislation resulting in 3000 new criminal offences, the show more increase in police powers, the intention to keep databases of all children in the UK, the proposed reduction in the rights to trial by jury and the removal of the right to silence. The list could go on and on. We are fortunate that Baroness Kennedy - who is herself a formidably powerful voice in this country's legal circles - challenges all these changes in this book. It is essential reading for any member of society who wants to understand what the changing face of British justice means to us all. show less
"This is a cogently argued examination of how the British legal system ignores, downgrades, underrates and discriminates against women...Kennedy has properly argued that a profession that practises law and pursues justice must be seen to be just, reasonable, unprejudiced, and open to public scrutiny. Bravissima!" Julia Neuberger, Sunday Times
Awards
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Statistics
- Works
- 9
- Members
- 294
- Popularity
- #79,673
- Rating
- 4.1
- Reviews
- 4
- ISBNs
- 18