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 research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

. Her principal area of research is the activities of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

as they relate to

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

. 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 The Foreign, Commonwea ...

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 memb ...

about the human rights work of the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) is the ministry of foreign affairs and a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the government of the United Kingdom. The office was created on 2 ...

, and to the

Scottish Government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...

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 Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

(2002–2005), and her Master of Laws (LLM) at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

(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 ...

City University of London City, University of London was a public university from 1966 to 2024 in London, England. It merged with St George's, University of London to form City St George's, University of London in August 2024. The names "City, University of London" and ...

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) 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 United Nations Regional Gro ...

Career

Freedman was a senior lecturer at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

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 Bicameralism, 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 ...

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 t ...

, which attracted media coverage for the gender critical views advanced by Freedman and other speakers, including

Jo Phoenix Joanna Phoenix (born 1964) is an academic 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 know ...

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

transgender rights The legal status of transgender people varies greatly around the world. Some countries have enacted laws protecting the rights of transgender individuals, but others have criminalized their gender identity or expression. In many cases, transg ...

. 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, it is one of the original plate glass university, plate glass universities. The university comprises three camp ...

in 2020 as part of the University’s

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

Memorial Week event. The invitation was effectively rescinded at short notice. Following the independent Reindorf Review, which suggested the university may have acted unlawfully, she received an apology from the university. Freedman is the joint editor of ''Responses to 7 October: Antisemitic Discourse (Studies in Contemporary Antisemitism)'', a collection of essays about responses to the events of 7 October 2024 in Israel and the subsequent conflict in Gaza. Freedman is an Associate Member of 4-5 Gray's Inn Square, a set of barristers' chambers in London.

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 writers English Jews British women academics English barristers Women legal scholars Year of birth missing (living people) Alumni of the UCL Faculty of Laws 1983 births Academics of the University of Birmingham