Lisa Davis

Prof. Lisa Davis (@lisadavisnyc) is Special Adviser on Gender Persecution to the ICC Prosecutor and an Associate Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Human Rights and Gender Justice Clinic (formerly named International Women’s Human Rights Clinic) at CUNY Law. Prof. Davis has written and reported extensively on international human rights and gender issues including women’s rights and LGBTQI+ rights, with a focus on peace building and security issues in conflict and disaster settings. She has provided expert remarks before the UN Security Council, U.S. Congress, U.K. Parliament, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and various international human rights bodies and is also a member of the JRR-UN Women SGBV Justice Experts Roster.

In the case of Karen Atala and Daughters v. Chile, Prof. Davis co-authored the only amicus curiae brief to argue that sexual orientation and gender identity are protected classes under international law. In 2012, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights issued a ground- breaking decision, providing for an explicit prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. In 2010, Prof. Davis served as lead counsel for the Inter- American Commission petition on behalf of displaced Haitian women and girls, which resulted in the Commission’s first-ever precautionary measures decision recognizing State responsibility to prevent third-party gender-based violence. Prof. Davis was subsequently awarded the 2011 People’s Choice Gavel Award by their peers for the decision.

Prof. Davis joined the CUNY Law faculty in 2010 and is a faculty advisor for the Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice, and a faculty advisor for the CUNY Law Review. Prior to joining CUNY Law, Professor Davis established the advocacy department at MADRE, an international feminist human rights organization, and developed the legal advocacy platform to advance women’s human rights in peace-building and security issues.