Realizing Human Rights for Women

The author reviews the developments in the prohibition of violence against women in international human rights law. She stresses the importance of recognizing violence against women as a human right rather than as a "private" individual or family matter. The precedent set in the area of violence against women may give other groups the framework within which to challenge the boundaries of human rights law. The author also observes that the feminist debate around violence shows that human rights are not static and that women's voices have much to contribute to the future evolution of human rights. Finally, she concludes that the growing prohibition against domestic violence in international human rights law will encourage a sense of ownership of those rights by moving the debate from expressions of moral outrage into the framework of enforceable legal rights. [Descriptors: Violence Against Women, International]