Ruth Adler 1944-94

Feminist human rights and child welfare campaigner

Ruth Margaret Adler (née Oppenheimer) was a feminist human rights and child welfare campaigner. She went to North London Collegiate School and Somerville College, Oxford where she read Philosophy, Politics and Economics. She moved to Scotland in the late sixties and taught philosophy at Edinburgh University

She felt that for rights to be protected and justice achieved, organisations were needed. To this end she became a founding member of Scottish Women's Aid in 1974.

She believed passionately in justice for children and served on the Lothian Region Children’s Panel for many years. Her work there formed the basis of her PhD thesis and her first book “Taking Juvenile Justice Seriously” (1985). Realising again that an organisation was needed in order to put this into practice, she helped to establish the Scottish Child Law Centre in 1988.

In addition to her work in protection for vulnerable women and children, she took on the role of Assistant to the Lay Observer for Scotland (now the Legal Ombudsman) in 1987 where she was responsible for investigating complaints against solicitors. A year later she became a JP.

Ruth was appointed the first Scottish Development Officer for Amnesty International (1991-4) where she pursued her interest in human rights.

She was proud of her Jewish heritage and was Secretary of the Edinburgh Jewish Literary Society and President in its centenary year, in 1988. She spoke German fluently and translated several books on legal theory.

There is a plaque to her memory in the Edinburgh University Day Nursery garden.

Tiana Sidey

Edit June 2022: the plaque is now situated in Dr. Neil's Garden at Duddingston Village.

Sources:

Cheetham, Juliet. Obituary: Ruth Adler The Independent, 26th February 1994
Ewan, E and Innes, S and Reynolds, S (eds.) The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women EUP (2006)