Introduction

This chapter explores the human rights documents on Violence against Women (VAW) adopted at regional level, and the derived duties of States from an intersectional perspective. The Council of Europe (CoE) and the Organization of American States (OAS) are the two regional systems under review. The appeal of these two systems derives from the applicable instruments each possess: a human rights convention and a convention dedicated to VAW, and also from fact that both systems possess long-standing Human Rights Courts and jurisprudence on VAW.

The Council of Europe

In 1949, the Council of Europe was founded with the aim of facilitating the process of European reconstruction after the Second World War by promoting the rule of law, democracy, human rights and social development. This human rights system today includes 47 Member States, of which 28 are also members of the European Union. All Council of Europe Member States have ratified the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR). The implementation of the Convention is overseen by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), and its decisions are enforced by the Committee of Ministers of the CoE.

Since 1980, the CoE has promoted numerous studies and publications concerning VAW and has, since the mid-1990s, elaborated a legal and policy framework addressing gender inequality and violence against women. In addition to the ECHR, Recommendation Rec (2002)5 of the Committee of Ministers on the protection of women against violence and the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women and Domestic Violence are the two main documents dealing specifically with the issue.

European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms

The ECHR, adopted in 1950, was clearly inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), adopted two years earlier. It entered into force on the 3rd of September of 1953, and since 2009, it has been internally applicable in all Member States.