Mapping violence against women laws in the world: an overview of state commitments

Violence against women (VAW) is a social problem that States must address legally to deal with this source of injustice, inequality, and physical and non-physical health problems. This editorial aims to describe the international situation as regards VAW legislation, focusing in particular on violence by intimate partners. It also discusses the minimum standards that such laws should incorporate.

The article underlines the following findings:

• the demands made by the women’s movement have stimulated the development of laws and policies in many countries.
• in 2008, the UN issued a model framework for legislation on VAW based on the document “Good practices in legislation on violence against women” .
• moreover, 115 countries have adopted or revised legislation on VAW enacting different kinds of instruments such as laws, legal codes or legal reforms in their constitutions.
• however, despite the advances that have been made, the developed tools still exhibit limitations in terms of their contents and application (e.g. protecting the family rather than the woman).
  

The paper highlights the need to design measures that encompass all forms of VAW -physical, sexual, psychological, and financial or economic. In addition, it presents the following conclusions:

• reductions in government expenditure and democratic backwardness in terms of gender equality could act as potential determinants of murders by VAW.
• it would be helpful to know to what extent existing legislation complies with the established. minimum standards, developing mechanisms for coordinating the different areas of intervention.
• public health research could contribute to the development of instruments for public VAW policies based on evidence and the monitoring of the implementation of their measures.
• furthermore, it could contribute to the evaluation of the instruments’ impact on battered women and society.