In contrast to the criminal justice framework applied to domestic violence in the United States, it was a human rights perspective that brought violence against women to the forefront of the international community’s law, health, and peace agendas. The recognition of women’s rights as human rights is a relatively recent phenomenon; the international human rights system, like national legal systems, is a jurisprudence centered on male life experience and the normative male view. Today the women’s movement has achieved international consensus that abuse of women by intimate partners or other family members is a form of gender discrimination and violates human rights, but silence about and approval of domestic violence persists in many countries and communities. A number of strategies have evolved to address this globally endemic phenomenon. Some are implemented by agencies working directly in the legal sector; others are used by organizations incorporating human rights principles into their missions, methods, or programming. Examples include law reform and litigation; the establishment of reproductive health protocols that address the health impacts of rights violations; manuals and activities for participatory education and popular action; and local, regional, and global networks of political, health, and grassroots activists. In the United States, though a leader in many respects in national efforts to identify, quantify, and prevent domestic violence, the legacy of criminalization is one reason that advocates, providers, and policymakers have yet to tap the full potential of human rights approaches.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation participants will be able to 1) identify human rights principles and instruments that condemn domestic violence as a violation of human rights and 2) describe programs that use human rights principles and/or mechanisms to address and prevent domestic violence and assess the status and application of these approaches in the U.S.
Keywords: Domestic Violence, Human Rights
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.