Thematic Areas

Violence Against Women

We prioritise the enhancement of the protection of women from violence in its many forms, through the development of legal standards that elaborate on state obligations. Violence against women is a form of discrimination. We focus on the positive obligations of the state to hold both state and non-state actors accountable for the protection of women and the prevention of this form of discrimination.

Through this thematic area, we address the following main issues:

• The failure to provide legal protection to adult victims of human trafficking.
• Legal defence of victims of violence who intersect with the criminal justice system.
• The recognition and expansion of legal defences available to women who engage in the criminal justice system as a result of violence perpetrated on them or against them.
• Legal defence for women who name their abusers.
• The failure to provide adequate responses and protection from violence against women with intersecting identities, including women with disabilities, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender (LBT) women and migrant women.
• The extent to which gender stereotypes inform state failure to adequately respond to violence against women.