Rosa Anne Freedman, who has written as Rosa Davis, is a British professor of law, conflict, and global development at the

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

. Her principal area of research is the activities of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

as they relate to

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

. She has given evidence before the

Foreign Affairs Select Committee The Foreign Affairs Select Committee is one of many select committees of the British House of Commons, which scrutinises the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. Inquiries The Foreign Affairs ...

of the

House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...

about the human rights work of the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

, and to the Scottish Government relating to gender questions on the national census.

Early life

Rosa Freedman was born in 1983. She has spoken openly about being a survivor of sexual violence. She acquired her Bachelor of Laws (LLB) at Queen Mary University of London (2002–2005), and her Master of Laws (LLM) at University College London (2005–06). She took the

Bar Vocational Course The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court ...

at City University of London in 2006–07 and qualified as a barrister of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. She acquired her PhD in law at Queen Mary University of London in 2011 for a thesis on the

United Nations Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

Career

Freedman was a senior lecturer at the

University of Birmingham , mottoeng = Through efforts to heights , established = 1825 – Birmingham School of Medicine and Surgery1836 – Birmingham Royal School of Medicine and Surgery1843 – Queen's College1875 – Mason Science College1898 – Mason Univers ...

from 2014 to 2016 before becoming professor of law, conflict, and global development at the

in 2016. Her first book was ''The United Nations Human Rights Council: A Critique and Early Assessment'', based on her PhD research, and published by Routledge in 2013. In 2014, she published a further book relating to her research titled ''Failing to Protect: The UN and the Politicisation of Human Rights''. In June 2018, she gave evidence before the

of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

about the human rights work of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Also in 2018, in her response to the Scottish Government's proposal to change gender rules in the national census, she warned that "conflating sex and gender identity will undermine sex as a separate category protected by law". She spoke at an event at the

Edinburgh Law School Edinburgh Law School, founded in 1707, is a school within the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom dedicated to research and teaching in law. It is located in the historic Old College, the original site of the University. Two of ...

, which attracted media coverage for the perceived trans-exclusionary views advanced by Freedman and other speakers, including

Jo Phoenix Jo Phoenix (born 1964) is an author and professor of Criminology in the United Kingdom. Phoenix writes about the policies and laws which surround various sexual activities, and the social conditions which underpin them. She is known for her gend ...

. In December 2018, she described receiving abuse on the basis of her continuing opposition to

transgender rights A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is inconsistent or not culturally associated with the sex they were assigned at birth and also with the gender role that is associated with that sex. They may have, or may intend to establi ...

. Freedman was invited to take part in an event at

University of Essex The University of Essex is a public university, public research university in Essex, England. Established by royal charter in 1965, Essex is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. Essex's shield consists of the an ...

in 2020 as part of the University’s

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

Memorial Week event. The invitation was effectively rescinded at short notice. Following advice from a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

that suggested the university may have acted unlawfully, she received an apology from the university.

Selected publications

* ''The United Nations Human Rights Council: A Critique and Early Assessment''. Routledge, Abingdon, 2013. * ''Failing to Protect: The UN and the Politicisation of Human Rights''. Hurst & Company, London, 2014.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedman, Rosa Living people Academics of the University of Reading British legal scholars Alumni of University College London Alumni of Queen Mary University of London Jewish women English Jews British women academics English barristers Women legal scholars Year of birth missing (living people)