Reference:
App. No. 71127/01, (2008).
Annotation:
The Bevacqua case was the first to
recognize that a failure to protect a
woman and her child from violence and
harassment can constitute a violation of
Article 8 of the Convention, the right to
respect for private and family life.
Bevacqua, along with her minor son, left
Bulgaria for Italy after her divorce. She
applied for an interim custody order,
stating that her husband had battered her.
Over the course of one year, Bevacqua was
unable to obtain the order, and continued
to be harassed and assaulted by her ex-
husband. Despite repeated assaults, the
police did nothing to assist Bevacqua, and
upon complaining of their inaction,
Bevacqua was told her that the issue was a
"private matter". The Court held that
Article 8 was violated based on the
Bulgarian authorities' failure to protect
Bevacqua and punish her husband for the
assaults. The Court also found that the
categorization by the Ministry of the
Interior of the issue as a "private
matter" was incompatible with the state's
obligation to protect the applicant's
family life. It is especially noteworthy
that the Court chose to interpret Article
8 not as requiring the State to stay out
of private and family matters, but rather
as requiring the State to intervene where
women face situations of violence in the
private sphere.