1 Potential problems for the effectiveness of international human rights law as regards domestic violence 1
The achievements of international human rights law 1
Problems 2
The way in which rights were formulated and the publiclprivate dichotomy 3
Conflicting rights 8
Implementation difficulties 10
Conclusion 18
2 What measures may it be beneficial for human rights law to achieve in relation to domestic violence? 19
Improving the criminal justice system 19
Civil law measures 30
Providing social support measures to victims 31
Changing attitudes 33
Ensuring inter-agency cooperation 38
Tackling risk factors 39
Battery treatment programmes 40
Conclusion 41
3 The jurisprudence of the European Court of uman Rights 42
Positive obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights 43
In what ways is domestic violence a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights? 46
How has the European Court of Human Rights addressed the issue of domestic violence? 48
Limitations on the obligation to take operational measures 52
The responses of states to the judgments of the Court 53
The provision of resources to victims of domestic violence 54
The margin of appreciation 57
Conclusion 58
4 The Human Rights Act 1998: Could the United Kingdom courts rise to the challenge? 60
The horizontal effect of the Human Rights Act 1998 60
Has domestic violence been recognised as a human rights issue in the United Kingdom? 62
The deference shown by judges 64
The limits on what courts can achieve and difficulties surrounding socio-economic rights 66
The problem of alleged perpetrators relying on human rights law 69
The ability of law to deal ivith an 'unseen crime 75
Conclusion 76
5 The approach of the international human rights bodies to domestic violence 78
improving the criminal justice system 79
Improving the civil law 82
Providing measures of social support for victims 82
Improving societal awareness 83
Improving the awareness of professionals 84
Developing inter-agency approaches 86
Tackling risk factors 87
Developing programmes for perpetrators 89
Undertaking research 90
Amending CEDAW? 90
The Optional Protocol to CED A W 91
Transcending the publiclprivate dichotomy 96
Conclusion 97
6 Implementation of the statements of the international human rights bodies in the United Kingdom 99
Is the United Kingdom complying with the recommendations? 99
Why is the United Kingdom complyinglnot complying with the recommendations? 112
Could the statements of international human rights bodies be used more effectively? 121
Conclusion 123
7 Conclusion 125
A litigation approach 125
Using the statements of the international human rights bodies 130
Final points 131
Notes 133
B ibliography 163
Index 174