European Convention on Human Rights and Domestic Violence

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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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