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Kristi Kenyon

 

  • 2007 Trudeau Scholar

    kristi.kenyon@trudeaufoundation.net

    Current Research

    Ph.D. Political Science, University of British Columbia

    Realizing Health Rights: Civil Society Mobilization in the Context of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic

    Profile

    Being a Trudeau Scholar has allowed me to design my own research program and to think big! It's made extensive fieldwork possible, and allowed me to network both within and outside of my field with leading thinking and practitioners. It's also been an experience of being welcomed into a warm, diverse and rambunctious community of people who are movers and shakers as well as researchers. It's impossible not to be inspired at a Foundation event. I'm already excited by the network we've created and how we'll work together as faculty, as policy-makers, having developed strong personal connections through the Foundation.

    Trudeau Foundation Themes

    Human Rights and Social Justice » 
    Responsible Citizenship » 
    Canada and the World » 

  • Current Residence

    Vancouver, British Columbia

    Languages

    English, French, working knowledge of Spanish

    Degrees

    • M.A. Theory and Practice of Human Rights, University of Essex, UK
    • B.A. Political Science, University of British Columbia

    Current Research

    Realizing Health Rights: Civil Society Mobilization in the Context of the HIV/AIDS Pandemic

     

    In her doctoral thesis, Ms. Kenyon is examining why civil society groups in the health sector have increasingly chosen to frame their struggles in the language of rights and, how their mobilization can lead to recognition and implementation of health rights. In the past decade health issues have moved from the margins of human rights discourse to the forefront, with international networks of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) playing a pivotal role in this transition. The acknowledgement of global inequity and its profound impact on health has pushed issues of treatment and prevention accessibility from realms of health and development to that of human rights. Networks of civil society actors have used the language of rights to campaign successfully for access to treatment and non-discrimination with respect to HIV, for malaria prevention, against infant formula, and for the illegalization of Female Genital Cutting in various jurisdictions through the coordinated action of domestic and international NGOs. Yet the path from advocacy to the realization of health rights is under-examined and little understood in the academic literature. Ms. Kenyon is investigating this phenomenon with specific reference to HIV/AIDS in Africa, a health crisis that has played a critical role in the shift towards rights language among civil society.

    Past Research

    • HIV Testing and Confidentiality: A Review of Policy, In-Service Training Curriculum, and Provider Knowledge of the National HIV Policy
    • Development of a Resource and Training Manual on Human Rights and HIV for Use in National Training in Botswana
    • Ethical, Legal and Human Rights Issues in the Context of Pediatric HIV/AIDS Care
    • Vigilance in Changing Circumstances: Transnational Human Rights Advocacy Networks and Transitional East Timor (MA thesis)

    Awards

    • Canadian Graduate Scholarship - Doctoral, SSHRC
    • Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship for International Graduate Study
    • Vancouver Consular Corps Prize (Special University Prize)
    • Green College Junior Fellow
    • Wesbrook Scholar, University of British Columbia

    Social Engagement

    • Capacity Building - Volunteer Consultancy Position through World University Service of Canada
    • Researcher - Committee on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women
    • Career Mentor/Workshop Leader, The World Refugee Academy
    • Member, Board of Directors, Thusano Lefatsheng Trust

    Work Experience

    • Human Rights Research Officer, Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS/WUSC
    • South East Asia Researcher, Amnesty International, International Secretariat
    • Intern Program Officer, Asian Institute of Development Communication (AIDCOM), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
    • Parliamentary Page, House of Commons Page Program, Ottawa, Ontario

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