Intersectionality
Explainer
Intersectionality refers to how a person’s multiple identities (such as gender, race, ethnicity, disability, age, migration status, sexual orientation, and class) combine to shape both experiences of harm and access to justice. In other words, two people may experience the “same” crime differently because of how their identities overlap and how systems treat them.
In the realm of international criminal justice, applying intersectionality means recognising that survivors of atrocity crimes are not only harmed by a single axis of oppression. For example, a woman from an ethnic minority who is displaced may face sexual violence, but her harm is magnified by her ethnicity, her displacement status, and gendered norms. A person with disability may face barriers in evidence giving or witness protection that others do not.
At WIGJ, we treat intersectionality not just as a concept but as a practical operational lens. We seek to ensure that investigations, prosecutions, adjudications, and reparations in the International Criminal Court (ICC) and related mechanisms are designed, implemented, and reviewed in ways that account for overlapping discrimination and layered vulnerabilities.
Why this matters
- Human impact: Survivors often face compounded harms, not just because of what happened to them, but because of who they are (or are perceived to be). Justice must reflect those layered realities to truly respond to their needs and agency.
- ICL relevance: Embedding intersectional justice advances the Rome Statute system’s human-rights mandate (such as through Article 21) and helps strengthen jurisprudence by recognising diversity in harm, identity and participation.
- Systemic change: Applying intersectional thinking transforms justice institutions, making them more inclusive, legitimate and effective in addressing structural discrimination, not just individual acts of harm.
What we do on Intersectionality
Legal Research & Analysis
This WIGJ report (Dec 2023) provides a rigorous review of how the ICC has handled sexual and gender-based crimes (SGBC), identifies shortcomings in intersectional and gender-competent adjudication, and offers concrete recommendations for change.
Advocacy & Policy
Current objectives:
- Institutionalise intersectional and substantive justice principles within the International Criminal Court (ICC) system’s strategic, legal, and operational frameworks.
- Build judicial and prosecutorial capacity through sustained dialogue, training, and reflective practice on layered identities and harms.
- Develop policy frameworks and budget allocations that enable intersectional data collection, representation, and participation.
Recent/upcoming engagements:
- In June 2025, our blog “Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia is setting a path for intersectionality, survivor-agency and restorative justice” highlighted how Colombia’s transitional justice system is integrating survivor-led intersectional analysis.
- In September 2025, we submitted amici curiae observations in the Al Hassan Reparations Hearing, calling on the ICC to recognise victims’ gendered and intersectional harm in its reparations phase.
- In October 2025, our analysis of the Ali Muhammad Ali Abd‑Al‑Rahman Judgment (first conviction for gender persecution at the ICC) emphasised the need for a comprehensive intersectional reasoning framework in decisions on discrimination, gender and identity.
Solidarity & Network-Building
Our intersectional work grows from collaboration with feminist practitioners and partners advancing justice in contexts where identities and inequalities converge.
We work alongside civil society and academic allies developing intersectional frameworks for gender-based and identity-based crimes, including those leading transitional justice processes such as the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) in Colombia, whose approach to restorative and intersectional justice informs our advocacy across the Rome Statute system.
Impact highlights
- Published a report analysing the ICC’s SGBC jurisprudence through an intersectional lens.
- Advocated with multiple stakeholders in the Rome Statute system for intersectional understanding of and responses to crimes.
- Analysed jurisprudence from Colombian JEP and translated lessons learnt for ICL practitioners.
Subtopics
- Intersectional investigations, prosecutions and judgments: how to recognise layered identities in evidence-gathering, understanding harm and how court decisions can integrate identity complexities
- Intersectional reparations: designing responses that reflect multiple dimensions of harm
