EUROPEAN CONVENTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
I. Issue
This study addresses a scenario in which a woman has suffered domestic violence at the hands of her husband and which her two children have been witness to repeatedly with the police claiming they can do nothing because it is a domestic issue. The woman in this scenario sought a protection order from the court which denied her such protection and subsequently requested assistance from the Ministry of the Interior who also denied her relief since the problem involved a private dispute. This study examines the European Convention on Human Rights and domestic violence issues. The work of Hasselbacher (2010) reports that the violence most commonly experienced globally by women is that of “physical violence inflicted by an intimate partner”. To address this issue, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly. This bill contained provisions focused on ending discrimination towards women. However, CEDAW failed to specifically address violence against women. The scenario involves attempted murder on a woman named Maria by her husband occurring on 29 May 2007 at their family home in a state that is a member of the council of Europe. Injuries sustained by Maria include irreversiable paraplegia and other physican and psychological trauma. This was not the first incidence of violence inflicted on Maria by her husband. The couple has two daughters, ages 5 and 7 who have witnessed the abuse. Maria was afraid to attempt a separation. Before the attempt on Maria’s life by her husband police had been called to their home numerous times but stated each time that it was a private dispute that wa...
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Kontrova v. Slovakia, Application no. 7510/04, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 31 May 2007, http://hudoc.echr.coe.int/sites/eng/pages/search.aspx?i=001-80696
Maresti v. Croatia, Application no. 55759/07, Council of Europe, European Court of Human Rights, 25 June 2009, http://sljeme.usud.hr/usud/prakESen.nsf/Praksa/4E9634C4D98E1A80C125737D004CEBA1?OpenDocument.
Opuz v. Turkey (2009) Council of Europe: European Court of Human Rights. Third Section 9 June 2009. Turkey. Application No. 33401/02. Retrieved from: http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?docid=4a2f84392
Therefore, this case plays on the idea that, when an individual feels his or her life to be in danger, self-defence is accurate. In the case of Ms. Lavallee, both reasonableness and ethics were questioned. Since Ms. Lavallee is a victim of battered woman syndrome, when she pulls the trigger at that life-threatening moment, cannot be understood except in terms of the cumulative effect of months or years of being brutally abused. Overall, this case is an exceptional example of how self-defence comes to play within the criminal justice system. It is important for the law to revaluate cases for a better understanding of the balance of inclination over pain. For instance, although Lavallee was thinking that her life was in danger with action she committed, there is reason and story behind her crime. When the case is viewed from this perspective, it becomes clear that the battered woman’s knowledge of her partner’s violence was so profound that she knows the extent and nature of the violence beforehand, which allowed her to determine that this time it was different, and would probably result in life threatening
The Human Rights Act of 1998 was co-founded upon the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of 1950. Developed following the ending of the Second World War, European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) was constructed to further the idealistic principles and endeavours of equality among all human beings, as well as a devout declaration of preventing the reoccurrence of the holocaust and massacres which have occurred as a casus belli . ECHR comprises civil privileges and liberties fundamental to all human beings irrespective of race, gender, age, sexual orientation exclusive of discrimination. The UK government have promptly endorsed the ECHR, recognising the need of ...
...2009): 8-9. United Nations Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review. Web. 8 Apr. 2014. .
The statistics available on violence against women are startling. Domestic violence is the major cause of death and disability for European women ages 16 to 44 and accounts for more deaths and injuries than automobile accidents and cancer. The Russian government estimates that over 14,000 women were killed by family members in 1999, but there is still no legislation that specifically addresses domestic violence. In South Africa, more women are shot in the home by relatives than are shot on the streets or by intruders (web.amnesty.org).
Simmonds C., ‘Paramountcy and the ECHR: a conflict resolved? [2012] Cambridge Law Journal Vol. 71 Issue 3, 498-201
Prof. Jeffrey A. Brauch, The Margin of Appreciation and the Jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights: Threat to the rule of law, Vol.11, Columbia Journal of European Law (2004-2005)
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention on Human Rights, as amended) (ECHR), Art 5(1)(e)
Countries such as the United Kingdom have laws in place to assist victims of domestic violence access legal aid in order to break free from abusive partners (Government, 2012). Such laws have come under criticism for making the barriers too high for most women who are victims of domestic violence (R v The Lord Chancellor& Secretary Of State For Justice, 2014).
...s Watch | Defending Human Rights Worldwide. Human Rights Watch, 29 Jan. 2014. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
...erty and Human Rights? Ethics & International Affairs, Volume 19, No. 1 Spring 2013. Web 14 April 2014
45 Oona Hathaway, ‘Do Human Rights Treaties Make a Difference?’ (2003) 112 Yale Law Journal
Unmistakably, domestic violence is a major issue in modern society, not only to the affected persons, but also to the entire community. Failure by the government to adequately address this aspect is most likely to expose more citizens to greater danger, which could include death. In view of this, Congress and other political leaders should adopt strict policies on domestic violence, because most citizens are suffering in one way or another from the effects of domestic violence. This is ostensibly because the current legal system does not sufficiently provide for the required protection, when it comes to domestic violence, and the situation at the moment is critical (Shipway, 20). This essay paper analyses some of the appropriate policy measures that the government, through congress should consider to make sure human rights are upheld.
"50 Years of EU Gender Equalitylaw." EUROPA. N.p., 25 Oct. 2007. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.
Human rights, specially those belonging to the first generation, as they are expressed in "The Universal Declaration of Human Rights" of December, 10th, 1948, are the end product of a long...