Let’s talk about autonomy, vulnerability, and rights | Silvina Álvarez Medina

Silvina Álvarez Medina is a university professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, where she works in the Faculty of Law, Department of Legal Philosophy. Based in Madrid, her research focuses on human rights from a gender and feminist perspective, with particular attention to women’s rights, gender-based violence, and feminist constitutionalism.

Her academic path is rooted in feminist jurisprudence, which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s as a critique of legal systems built on assumptions of neutrality and universalism that historically excluded women. Álvarez Medina emphasizes that while women have gained formal rights, today’s key challenge is transforming the foundations of these systems rather than merely adapting them.

A central theme in her work is autonomy. Moving beyond the liberal view of autonomy as purely individual and rational, she draws on feminist theories of relational autonomy, highlighting how choices are shaped by social relations, power structures, and care responsibilities. Closely linked to this is vulnerability, which she sees as a universal human condition that must be acknowledged alongside autonomy in law and policy.

Looking ahead, Álvarez Medina stresses that progress is fragile. While advances—such as renewed debates on consent and care—offer hope, meaningful change will require not only legal reforms but a deeper shift in how societies value care, interdependence, and social justice.