Justice, change, and human rights

This paper is one of several analytical documents synthesizing the findings across Promoting Women in Development (PROWID) projects and their implications within the various theme areas. Domestic violence perpetrated by partners and close family members on women has long been a matter of silent suffering within the four walls of the home. From this perspective, violence is seen to be a matter of individual responsibility, and the woman is perceived to be the one responsible for either adjusting more adequately to the situation as dictated by cultural norms or developing an acceptable method of suffering silently. This paper seeks to shift responsibility for domestic violence from a purely personal responsibility of the victim to one of social responsibility by articulating the importance of domestic violence within both a human rights framework and a development framework.