IngentaConnect Women and domestic violence: the publicprivate dichotomy in inter...

Author: Catherine Moore

Source: The International Journal of Human Rights, Volume 7, Number 4, October 2004 , pp. 93-128(36)

Publisher: Routledge, part of the Taylor & Francis Group

Abstract:

This article primarily questions and subsequently elucidates how the binary concept of the public opposing the private, in law and society, negatively impacts women's enjoyment of fundamental human rights with specific reference to the harm incurred in cases of domestic abuse. This article purports that the dichotomy must be reassessed, modified and reapplied so as to profit all in society. It scrutinises the international legal documents, such as the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, and finds that the Convention is re-conceptualising the nuances of the public/private dichotomy through its assertion that the state is responsible for violence perpetrated in the private sphere if it fails to prevent, investigate and punish the occurrence of such acts. This article therefore questions the range of influence exerted by this document and finds that, within the international legal arena, its concepts are being implemented via refugee law. This article asserts therefore that this aspect of law is presently pioneering the revision and reapplication of the public/private dichotomy to the end of providing greater protection to women subject to violence within the private sphere.

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Women and domestic violence: the public/private dichotomy in international law