International Human Rights Approaches to Improving Law Enforcement Responses to Gender-Based Violence

This resource examines the issue of violence against women in the Americas through the lens of a landmark legal case, Jessica Gonzales v. the United States, which was heard in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and has had reverberations in legal jurisdictions across the globe.

The guide provides an overview of human rights law’s approach to addressing gender-based violence. Specifically, the guide focuses on the “due diligence” standard and provides a comprehensive framework to address human rights violations in a systemic and proactive manner.

Jessica Lenahan’s three daughters were kidnapped and killed by her estranged husband due to the lack of actions taken by local law enforcement. She took her case before the U.S. Supreme Court and then before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights. This webpage includes the amicus briefs regarding her case, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights decision, and the press releases regarding this decision.

In Toradze v. Georgia, a law enforcement officer used his position of power to perpetuate a domestic violence situation in the country of Georgia. The Amicus Brief urged the European Court to consider, in the context provided by the case of Toradze v. Georgia, important principles that have been developed by international, regional, and national authorities on policing and human rights, and to apply a heightened responsibility standard in cases of officer-perpetrated gender based violence.

In analyzing the evolution of federal legislation in the United States, the author highlights how a human rights framework calls for a more comprehensive, multi-faceted approach to ending gender-based violence. It recognizes that domestic violence is not a private family matter and that the state has an obligation in efforts to prevent and respond to this violence in a manner that is holistic, effective and accessible to all.

This landmark treaty of the Council of Europe opens the path for creating a legal framework at pan-European level to protect women against all forms of violence, and prevent, prosecute and eliminate violence against women and domestic violence.

The Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence against Women, known as the Convention of Belém do Pará, defines violence against women, establishes that women have the right to live a life free of violence and that violence against women constitutes a violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The Maputo Protocol is a treaty instrument that is binding on all countries that ratify it. Proponents of the Maputo Protocol present it as a method of combating female genital mutilation in Africa, where it is more common than elsewhere.

Among the international human rights treaties, the Convention takes an important place in bringing women into the focus of human rights concerns. The present document spells out the meaning of equality and how it can be achieved.

The U.N.'s general Recommendation No. 19 from 1992 was historic as it clearly framed violence against women as a form and manifestation of gender-based discrimination, used to subordinate and oppress women. 25 years later, General Recommendation No. 35 elaborates on the gender-based nature of this form of violence, building on the work of the Committee and other international human rights mechanisms, as well as developments at national, regional and international levels.

In three modules, this resource covers lessons on how to apply gender concepts to policing; how to develop a police gender strategy and action plan; how to assist the host state police in developing and implementing a gender equality policy and recruiting female police officers; and how to establish special police units to address sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV).

This security toolkit draws together the key lessons of the past decade in promoting gender equality in security and justice. The toolkit shares new and emerging good practices, reflect upon how successes in increasing gender equality have been achieved and move forward thinking about integrating a gender perspective in security and justice sector institutions.

This report includes recommendations from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in response to the extremely high levels of violence experienced by aboriginal women and girls in Canada.

This resource puts together brief summaries of some of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women Committee’s (CEDAW) key decisions related to violence against women and state responsibility to end it.