Due Diligence and Its Application to Protect Women from Violence

Under international human rights law, states are required to exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate, punish and provide redress for acts of violence against women. Accordingly, the due diligence standard presents a way to measure whether a state has fulfilled its obligations to prevent and respond to violence against women. Despite its growing popularity as a tool for promoting greater state accountability for violence against women by non-state actors, the content and scope of due diligence obligations remain vague. Against the backdrop of contemporary issues that pose threats to women’s rights, the contributors to this volume examine how the due diligence standard and other strategies can be applied as useful mechanisms to combat violence against women in various cultures worldwide.