Girls' Positionalities at the Intersection of Identity and Violence (Gender, Justice and Legal Feminism) <Vol. 6>

The edited volume explores the unique positionality of girls as they experience gender-based violence. While girl children are often placed under the umbrella of womanhood, their location at the intersection of femalehood and childhood places them in a unique position with regards to various forms of exploitation and violence. Feminist theories, including feminist legal theory, provide pertinent avenues to explore girls positionalities, yet girl children should also be contextualized in relation to their current lived experiences. This book firstly explores the cultural and visual portrayal of girlhood and its relationship with gender-based violence, and secondly provides case studies of specific violations of human rights encompassing sexual violence and exploitation. It considers legal, social and economic avenues to support girls in reclaiming their identity, dignity and bodily integrity.

Girls Positionalities at the Intersection of Identity and Violence fills an important gap in the literature by offering a comprehensive exploration of the unique situation of girls and gender-based violence in the 21st century. Chapdelaine-Feliciati brings together a remarkable set of scholars and practitioners in various disciplines, from childhood studies, law, history, political science and sociology, to communication and culture, digital arts, game studies and literature. Girls Positionalities covers timely issues, namely online violence, cosmetic surgery and deepfakes, popular platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Onlyfans and Pornhub, while addressing girls in specific situations, such as armed conflict, refugee girls, and violence in the educational setting. While many studies tend to focus on girls as victims, this volume emphasizes ways in which girls can be empowered and engage in the promotion of their rights through awareness-raising, policy reform and a cultural shift in the portrayals of girlhood globally. - Deanne Williams, Professor of English Literature and Girls' Studies, York University, Toronto, Canada, and Co-founder, Girls' Studies Research Network

Girls Positionalities constitutes a significant contribution to the field of girls' studies, feminist theory, child studies, human rights and international law. As a multidisciplinary volume featuring junior as well as senior scholars, it provides novel perspectives on contemporary issues pertaining to girls in both the Global South and the Global North, from gender apartheid, guerilla girls, sexual harassment in education, coercive control in relationships, child marriage, and FGM, to online violence against girls, sexual and reproductive health, girls in video games, and girls' political activism on platforms such as TikTok. Chapdelaine-Feliciati s volume is a "must read" for scholars and practitioners in human rights, feminist studies, childhood studies and girlhood studies. - Annick Farina, Professor of Linguistics, Université Paris Sorbonne Nord, France

Introduction: Girls Positionalities and Gender-Based Violence.- Part I. Cultural and Visual Portrayals of Girlhood.- Theoretical and Practical Experiences with Girl Children.- Violence Against Girls: Culture, Identity and the Politics of Child Marriage Regulation.- Girls Education and the Gendered Politics of Neoliberal Development in Postcolonial India: A Decolonial Feminist Critique.- Disrupting Online Political Violence: The Aesthetic and Affective Labour of Gen Z Girls on TikTok.- Empowered by Play: How Female Players and Developers Shape Female Character Representation in Chinese Videogames.- The Lion Cub, the Witcher, and the War: Ciri and Gendered Violence.- Girls, Information, and the Internet: The Impact on Sexual and Reproductive Health through a Human Rights Lens.- Girls' Intersectional Analysis as a Critical Framework for Defining the Crime of Gender Apartheid.- Towards a Semiotics of Girl(s).- Part II. Gender-Based Violence Against Girl Children as Human Rights Violations.- The Girl Child and Her Inferior Status in Society: The Road to Violence.- Title IX s Failure to Effectively Curtail Sexual Harassment in American Schools.- Labour Legislation as a Key Mechanism to Address Gender-based Violence by Educators in South African Public Schools.- Critical Evaluation of the Legal Protections for Girls Against School Violence in West Africa.- The Right to Education of Young Girls at the Primary Level in Cameroon.- COERCIVE CONTROL AND TEENAGE INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS.- Unseen Threats? Combating Digital and Online Violence Against Girls.- Protecting Girls from Sexual Deepfakes in South Korea: Laws, Challenges, and Strategies for Better Protection.- Reporting Non-Consensual Intimate Image Distribution: Girls Legal Consciousness and Hesitancy to Invoke Criminal Law.- Billie-Dhelia Laforest.- Bridging Legal and Institutional Gaps in the Protection of Conflict-Induced Internally Displaced Girls and Women from Sexual and Gender-based Violence.- From Girlhood to Grief: Child Brides in Bangladesh.- How Can We Help?: Exploring the Contributions Men Make Toward the Practice.- Labiaplasty Procedures in Comparison to Female Genital Mutilation Under International Law Within the Canadian Context.

Clara Chapdelaine-Feliciati, Ph.D. in Law, University of Oxford, Master of Laws (LL.M.), King s College London, Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Civil Law (J.D. and B.C.L.), McGill University, is Associate Professor at Xi an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, China, and a Lawyer (Barrister and Solicitor) with the Law Society of Upper Canada. She is the author of The Status of the Girl Child under International Law: A Semioethic Analysis (Cambridge University Press 2025) and Feminicides of Girl Children in the Family Context: An International Human Rights Law Approach (Brill 2018), and editor of Legal Semiotics for Teaching International Law: Students Making Meaning (Springer 2026). Her research areas are legal semiotics, legal semioethics, international law, human rights, child law and feminist legal theory. She was awarded the Global Impact Grant for her novel theory in international legal semiotics. She is the Series Editor of International Human Rights Law (Anthem Press), Associate Editor of the International Journal for the Semiotics of Law, and Senior Fellow with the UK Higher Education Academy. Email: clara.chapdelaine-feliciati@mail.mcgill.ca; ORCID: 0000-0002-6654-1630