Regional Treaties

The following are selected examples of regional legal instruments which provide a foundation for the right of women and girls to be free of violence.

The preamble to the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man (1948) states that:

The American peoples have acknowledged the dignity of the individual, and their national constitutions recognize that juridical and political institutions, which regulate life in human society, have as their principal aim the protection of the essential rights of man and the creation of circumstances that will permit him to achieve spiritual and material progress and attain happiness…

It declares in Article I that “[e]very human being has the right to life, liberty and the security of his person.” In Article V, it states that “[e]very person has the right to the protection of the law against abusive attacks upon his honor, his reputation, and his private and family life.” Article XVIII also states that “[e]very person may resort to the courts to ensure respect for his legal rights.”

Article 3 of the Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment and Eradication of Violence Against Women (Convention of Belém do Para) (1994) states that women have “the right to be free from violence in both public and private spheres.” Article 4(g) declares that a woman has the right “to simple and prompt recourse to a competent court for protection against acts that violate her rights…” Under Article 7, states parties must exercise due diligence to prosecute, punish and prevent such violence, and “…include in their domestic legislation penal, civil, administrative and any other type of provisions that may be needed to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women and to adopt appropriate administrative measures where necessary…”

The European Convention on Human Rights (1950) states, in Article 5, that “[e]veryone has the right to liberty and security of person.” In Article 14 it states that the “enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, color, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.” In Opuz v. Turkey (2009), the European Court of Human Rights found that Turkey had failed to use due diligence to protect the plaintiff from domestic violence, as was required under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and awarded the plaintiff damages.

The Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (The Maputo Protocol) (2003) in Article 4 mandates states parties to “…adopt such other legislative, administrative, social and economic measures as may be necessary to ensure the prevention, punishment and eradication of all forms of violence against women.”

The Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the ASEAN Region (2004) in section 4 includes this agreement by states parties:

To enact and, where necessary, reinforce or amend domestic legislation to prevent violence against women, to enhance the protection, healing, recovery and reintegration of victims/survivors, including measures to investigate, prosecute, punish and where appropriate rehabilitate perpetrators, and prevent re-victimisation of women and girls subjected to any form of violence, whether in the home, the workplace, the community or society or in custody…

For more information on the international and regional legal and policy instruments and jurisprudence which provide the framework for legislation on violence against women, see: