White Paper Urges Use of Gender-Neutral 'Ombuds'

A working paper from Dragana Ćorić at the Faculty of Law in Novi Sad (Pravni fakultet Univerziteta u Novom Sadu) in Serbia examines the relevance of naming for the Ombuds profession. Corcic argues that gender-sensitive terminology is a vital mechanism for achieving gender equality by reflecting and driving social change. She asserts that the move to from 'Ombudsman' to 'Ombuds' is a significant of this linguistic shift reflecting broader progress in human rights principles. Although the focus is on Classical Ombuds, Corci cites materials from IOA and the UC Berkely Ombuds Office, and articles by David Rasch and David Schwartz. 

Here is the full abstract: 

In an era of the greatest opportunities and the widest range of human rights and freedoms, their implementation is becoming increasingly questionable. It is forgotten that the existence and implementation of one person’s rights is limited by the existence and implementation of the same or another right of another person. This does not mean that rights are in any way divided or diminished, but that the holders of rights must be aware that they are members of a community, within which everyone is equal in rights and obligations. One of the mechanisms for establishing full equality between men and women is the use of gender-sensitive terminology, which is primarily reflected in the use of nouns that are designated – in the feminine gender, which prevents discrimination and gives the impression and invitation to women to enter professions that have traditionally belonged exclusively to men. The paper discusses one such debate, which directly concerns people who work in area of the protection of human rights, and how human rights defenders themselves, as well as other lawyers and linguists, view this subtle, yet significant linguistic change in the designation of this important profession. Also, in this paper we raise some methodological questions, and we point out some paradoxes that arise when strictly applying this (or any other) right and obligation (meaning here, while using gender-sensitive terminology).

(Proceedings of the Faculty of Law, Novi Sad.) 

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