Sofia Gruskin

Sofia Gruskin is an scholar and advocate in the field of health and human rights. Her work has focussed on sexual and reproductive health, child and adolescent health, gender-based violence, HIV and AIDS, non-communicable diseases, and health systems. Gruskin has contributed to these fields of endeavour in both international forums and in Brazil and Vietnam.

Early life and education

Gruskin received her bachelor degree in sociology, majoring in ethnomethadology from the University of California at Santa Cruz. In 1990, she completed a doctoral degree in jurisprudence at the Cardozo School of Law. In 1993, Gruskin completed a masters' degree in international affairs, specialising in public health and human rights at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs.

Career

In 1993, Gruskin was employed by Jonathan Mann of the WHO to work, in association with Daniel Tarantola, to establish the François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University.

She commenced this task as head of the School of Public Health’s program on International Health and Human Rights. Gruskin also held the position of chairman of the Group on Reproductive Health and Rights at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies.

From 1996 to 2000, Gruskin was a member of the Amnesty International board of directors and from 2002 to 2006, she was chairman of the UNAIDS Global Reference Group on HIV/AIDS and Human Rights. Then, from 2005 to 2009, Gruskin was a standing member of the Scientific Review Committee on Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS. This was under the auspices of the National Institutes of Health. Between 2010 and 2013, Gruskin was a member of the Institute of Medicine's Committee for the Outcome and Impact Evaluation of Global HIV/AIDS Programs.^[1] This committee was convened under the Lantos-Hyde Act (2008). Also at this time, between 2010 and 2012, Gruskin was a member of the technical advisory group to the UN Global Commission on HIV and the Law.^[2]

Gruskin has held a professorial roles at the Keck School of Medicine in the field of preventive medicine, at the Gould School of Law, University of Southern California and in the Department of Global Health and Population at the T. H. Chan School of Public Health.^[3][4] Gruskin's other roles include co-coordinator of the Rights Oriented Research and Education (RORE) Network in Sexual and Reproductive Health, member of the PEPFAR scientific advisory board,^[5] member of the Guttmacher Institute’s board of directors and member of the core group of experts on under 5 mortality and morbidity for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the World Health Organization.

Contribution

During the early years of the global AIDS crisis, Gruskin observed that around the world a broad range of rights were being restricted in the name of public health but without proper justification, resulting in widespread violations of rights with devastating health effects.^[6]

Gruskin was a principle author of the Unicef document of HIV/AIDS published in 2003.^[7]

Gruskin said, "We have to recognize that law impacts health and we need to know when law is harming and when it needs to change" and "What should be done to be sure you can access what you need, when you need it, no matter where you are or who you are? How do we best ensure health systems are supportive of the health and human rights of all populations?"^[8]

Books and editorial works

• Gruskin S. (1996) An International Perspective on AIDS-Related Violations of Human Rights American Foundation for AIDS Research, New York.
• Mann J., Gruskin S. and Bertrand D. (1997) Santé Publique et Droits de l'Homme, Collection Espace Ethique, Paris.
• Mann J., Gruskin S. et al (ed.) (1999) Health and Human Rights: a Reader. Routledge, New York.
• Gruskin S. (ed.) (2001) Derechos Sexuales y Reproductivos: Aportes y Dialogos Contemporaneous Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan, Lima.
• Gruskin S. et al (ed.) (2005) Perspectives in Health and Human Rights Routledge,Taylor and Francis.
• Gruskin S. (ed.) Pregnancy Decisions of HIV-Positive Women Reproductive Health Matters 2012, vol 20(30) supp. p1-140.^[9]
• Gruskin S. (ed.) (2013) Abortion as a Matter of Reproductive Rights American Journal of Public Health, edited collection.^[10]
• Grodin M. et al (ed.) (2013) Health and Human Rights in a Changing World Routledge, Taylor and Francis, textbook.
• Gruskin (ed) (2014) Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Human Rights, a Toolbox for Examining Laws, Regulations and Policies. Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva.^[11]

Articles

Gruskin is an associate editor at The American Journal of Public Health, Global Public Health, and Reproductive Health Matters.

Selected articles include:

• Mann J. et al Health and Human Rights Health and Human Rights 1994, vol 1(1).
• Braveman P. and Gruskin S. Defining Equity in Health Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2003, vol 57(4):254-258.
• Gruskin S. et al History, Principles and Practice of Health and Human Rights The Lancet 2007, vol 370:449-455.
• Gruskin S and Daniels N. Justice and Human Rights: Priority Setting and Fair Deliberative Process American Journal of Public Health 2008, vol 98(9):1573-1577.
• Gruskin S. and Ferguson L. Using Indicators to Determine the Contribution of Human Rights to Public Health Efforts: Why? What? And How? Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2009, vol 87(9):714-719.^[12]
• Gruskin S. and Raad Z. Are Drug Companies Living Up to Their Human Rights Responsibilities? Moving Toward Assessment PLOS Medicine 2010 vol 7(9).^[13]
• Gruskin S. et al Rights-Based Approaches to Health Policies and Programmes: Articulations, Ambiguities and Assessment Journal of Public Health Policy 2010 vol 31(2) p129-145.
• Gruskin S. et al Identifying Structural Barriers to an Effective HIV Response: Using 2010 NCPI Data to Evaluate the Human Rights, Legal and Policy Environment Journal of the International AIDS Society 2013 vol 16.^[14]
• Tarantola D. et al Human Rights, Health and Development Australian Journal of Human Rights 2013 vol 13(2):1-32.

References

1. Institute of Medicine's Committee for the Outcome and Impact Evaluation of Global HIV/AIDS Programs Institute of Medicine.
2. UN Global Commission on HIV and the Law HIV law commission.
3. Sofia Gruskin Global Health at University of Southern California. Accessed 9 July 2016.
4. Sofia Gruskin Harvard. Accessed 9 July 2016.
5. PEPFAR Scientific Advisory Board PEPFAR governmental website
6. Scientific Review Committee on Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS National Institutes of Health government website.
7. HIV and Children's Rights Unicef 2003.
8. Sofia Gruskin, Prominent Researcher on Public Health and Law, Joins Keck School of Medicine of USC Office of Public Relations and Marketing, USC. 2011. Accessed May 7, 2015.
9. Gruskin S. (ed.) Pregnancy Decisions of HIV-Positive Women Reproductive Health Matters 2012 vol 20(39) p1-140.
10. Gruskin S. (ed.) Abortion as a Matter of Reproductive Rights American Journal of Public Health 2013.
11. Gruskin (ed)Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn and Child Health and Human Rights, a Toolbox for Examining Laws, Regulations and Policies Department of Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, 2014.
12. Gruskin S. and Ferguson L. Using Indicators to Determine the Contribution of Human Rights to Public Health Efforts: Why? What? And How? Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2009 vol 87(9):714-719.
13. Gruskin S. and Raad Z. Are Drug Companies Living Up to Their Human Rights Responsibilities? Moving Toward Assessment PLOS Medicine 2010 Vol (9)
14. Griskin et al Identifying Structural Barriers to an Effective HIV Response: Using 2010 NCPI Data to Evaluate the Human Rights, Legal and Policy Environment Journal of the International AIDS Society 2013 vol 16.