Virtual Journal

About IMPOWR Imprints

IMPOWR Imprints Virtual Journal Submission Guidelines

The IMPOWR Imprints Virtual Journal accepts original submissions from authors on an ongoing basis. We publish articles that address legal issues concerning gender equality and women's rights.

Submissions and Queries

Please send your journal articles in MS Word format via email through our “Contact” form. Please include your full contact information with your submission, including your mailing address, which is necessary for use on the publication agreement.

Author Bio

Please include a short biographical note. Include your position, firm/organization and location. If you would like your email address to be shown online, please note this.

Style

Use a writing style that is brisk and straightforward. IMPOWR Imprints is a virtual journal and thus less formal than a law review or other scholarly journal. Authors should comply with the following:

Campaign Finance Laws and Gender Disparity in Elections

Author: 
Amber Rose Maltbie
Publication Date: 
Thu, 2011-06-02

Money in politics plays a critical role in an election’s integrity and fairness (perceived and real), as well as post-election governmental ethics.1 Political finance – alternatively referred to as campaign or electoral finance – is therefore a crucial aspect to a democracy’s ability to thrive.2 A campaign finance law can improve the ability to elect a representative democracy,’3 thereby improving the overall quality of the electoral process.

Among the public policy goals advanced by electoral financing statutory schemes are increased disclosure of contributions and expenditures to curb against corrupt practices, and spending caps to “even the playing field” by candidates who don’t have personal wealth.4

  • 1. Magnus Öhman et al., Political Finance Regulation: The Global Experience 13 (Magnus Öhman & Hani Zainulbhai eds., Int’l Found. for Electoral Systems 2009).
  • 2. Id.
  • 3. Jarrett Blanc et al., Challenging the Norms and Standards of Election Administration 76 (Int’l Found. for Electoral Systems ed., 2007).
  • 4. Id. at 75-93.
Additional Files: 
application/pdf iconCampaign Finance Laws and Gender Disparity in Elections (PDF version)

The Role of International Law in Reducing Maternal Mortality

Author: 
K. Madison Burnett
Publication Date: 
Mon, 2010-10-18

 “Safe motherhood is a human rights issue…The death of a woman during pregnancy or childbirth is not only a health issue but also an issue of social injustice.”

                          World Health Organization et al., “Reduction of Maternal Mortality: A Joint WHO/UNFPA/UNICEF/World Bank Statement” (1999).

The United States Constitution primarily establishes limits on federal power by prohibiting the federal government from regulating certain areas. However, this is not true of the constitutions of many other countries, which may establish affirmative duties of government to provide certain rights and benefits to the country’s citizenry. Similarly, many United Nations (UN) treaties obligate governmental parties to take affirmative steps to protect and promote the rights described within the treaty. This piece will briefly describe how constitutional and international law may be utilized to reduce maternal mortality in critical areas.

What is Maternal Mortality?

Additional Files: 
application/pdf iconThe Role of International Law in Reducing Maternal Mortality (PDF version)

Trafficking Across the Globe: A Summary Report on U.S. Policy

Author: 
Fiona Cox
Publication Date: 
Tue, 2010-08-24

In June 2010, the U.S. Department of State released its tenth annual edition of the Trafficking in Persons Report (the “TIP Report”). The TIP Report is comprehensive; it includes the definition of trafficking, relevant international conventions, country narratives, and individual stories. The TIP Report highlights trafficking in persons as a human rights issue and views this issue as related to fundamental rights of civil liberties.

The TIP Report can be found at http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/

Fact sheet: http://www.state.gov/r/pa/scp/fs/2010/143115.htm

Additional Files: 
application/pdf iconTrafficking Across the Globe: A Summary on U.S. Policy (PDF version)

Transformational Microfinance: An Anecdotal Reality

Author: 
Fatima Iqbal
Publication Date: 
Thu, 2010-10-07

I. Introduction

Muhammad Yunus proclaims: “There is no better time for a serious discussion of how the law and lawyers can enable the poor to help themselves’ throughout the world, and especially in the United States.”1 However, in his call to the legal profession, he also questions the ability of highly regulated banks or complex legal contracts to help the poor take care of themselves.2

  • 1. Muhammad Yunus, How Legal Steps Can Help to Pave the Way to Ending Poverty, 35 ABA Hum. Rts. Q. No. 1 (Winter 2008).
  • 2. Yunus, supra note 1, para. 2, Complex Isn’t Always Better, para. 1.
Additional Files: 
application/pdf iconRedacted charts
application/pdf iconTransformational Microfinance: An Anecdotal Reality (PDF version)