About rightsbase
RightsBase is a website about human rights. The name is derived from an expression that’s gaining currency: as in, a rights-based approach to development, or a rights-based approach to combating HIV, etc. Thus this blog addresses just about any topic from a human rights perspective.
Human rights relate to almost every area of life. They range from the right to life and freedom from torture and slavery, to the right to food, housing, work, health and education. To get an impression of the breadth of human rights, look at the incomparable Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted at the United Nations in 1948.
My name’s Olivia Ball. I earn my living from human rights, but this blog is testament to my habit of doing it in my own time, too. I started out as a psychologist, and soon found myself working with survivors of torture and trauma. It was a short step from there to human rights. These days I do things like campaigning, writing, editing, researching and teaching – all about human rights.
My book The No-Nonsense Guide to Human Rights, co-authored with Paul Gready, was published in 2006, with a 2nd edition and a Spanish-language edition published in 2009. Here's some other things I’ve written. I hope you enjoy this site and find it useful.
Dr Olivia Ball
B.Sc.(psych.), Grad.Dip.Couns.Psych., B.Litt.(devt stud.), CELTA, M.A.(human rights)
