Skip to main content Accessibility help

We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.

Close cookie message
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-31T20:12:14.936Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

17 - Sex, Law, and Domestic Violence against Women in the Modern World

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 April 2024

By
Conceição Gomes
Edited by
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks  and
Mathew Kuefler
Merry E. Wiesner-Hanks
Affiliation:
University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Mathew Kuefler
Affiliation:
San Diego State University
Get access

Summary

Domestic violence is a major cause of social exclusion and human rights violations affecting millions of human beings around the world, making them victims of murder, physical, sexual and psychological violence, subjected to humiliation and various types of abuse.The vast majority of these acts of violence are committed against women in intimate relationships. In recent decades, the reflection produced by multiple studies has challenged and encouraged international organizations and governments to develop measures to prevent and combat the phenomenon. However, despite some important steps taken and innovative legal frameworks, there is still a large gap between the law and practice. This chapter presents a critical analysis of the phenomenon considering three dimensions: the contribution of theoretical approaches to its social and political unveiling and to the development of new conceptual paradigms; the evolution of the international political and legal agenda; and, based on the experiences of two countries, Portugal and East Timor, the challenges to public policies and the role of the courts in preventing and combating domestic violence against women.

Keywords

gender- based violencedomestic violencegender discriminationviolence against womenwomen”s rights
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge World History of Sexualities , pp. 358 - 380
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Further Reading

Abrams, Kathryn. ‘Legal Feminism and the Emotions: Three Moments in an Evolving Relationship’. Harvard Journal of Law & Gender 28 (2005): 325–44.Google Scholar
Baker, Katharine. ‘Gender and Emotion in Criminal Law’. Harvard Journal of Law & Gender 28 (2005): 447–66.Google Scholar
Barocas, B., Emery, D., and Mills, L. G.. ‘Changing the Domestic Violence Narrative: Aligning Definitions and Standards’. Journal of Family Violence 31, no. 8 (2016): 941–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bates, Elizabeth A., and Taylor, Julie C., eds. Domestic Violence against Men and Boys: Experiences of Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. New York: Routledge, 2023.Google Scholar
Bograd, Michele. ‘Strengthening Domestic Violence Theories: Intersections of Race, Class, Sexual Orientation, and Gender’. In Domestic Violence at the Margins: Readings on Race, Class, Gender and Culture, ed. Sokolof, Natalie J. and Pratt, Christina, 25–38. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2005.Google Scholar
Chan, Ko-Ling, ed. Preventing Family Violence: A Multidisciplinary Approach. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2012.Google Scholar
Devaney, J., Bradbury-Jones, C., Macy, R. J., Øverlien, C., and Holt, S., eds. The Routledge International Handbook of Domestic Violence and Abuse. London: Routledge, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Douglas, Heather. Women, Intimate Partner Violence, and the Law. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duarte, Madalena. Para um direito sem margens: Representações sobre o direito e a violência contra as mulheres (Towards Law without Margins: Representations of Law and Violence against Women). Coimbra, Portugal: Universidade de Coimbra, 2013.Google Scholar
Dutton, Donald G. Rethinking Domestic Violence. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, 2006.Google Scholar
Féria, Maria Teresa, ‘Se as mulheres fossem seres humanos’ (‘If Women Were Human Beings’). Julgar 22 (2014): 97–115.Google Scholar
Gomes, Conceição, and Jorge, Graça. Os tribunais em Timor-Leste: Desafios a um sistema judicial em construção (The Courts in East Timor: Challenges to a Judicial System under Construction). Coimbra, Portugal: CES-OPJ/Comissão para a Reforma Legislativa e do Sector da Justiça de Timor-Leste, 2017.Google Scholar
Gomes, Conceição, Fernando, Paula, Ribeiro, Tiago, Oliveira, Ana, and Duarte, Madalena. Violência doméstica: Estudo avaliativo das decisões judiciais (Domestic Violence: An Evaluation Study of Court Decisions). Lisbon: Comissão para a Cidadania e a Igualdade de Género, 2016.Google Scholar
Goodmark, Leigh. Decriminalizing Domestic Violence: A Balanced Policy Approach to Intimate Partner Violence. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2018.Google Scholar
Hague, Gill. History and Memories of the Domestic Violence Movement: We’ve Come Further than You Think. Bristol, UK: Bristol University Press, 2021.Google Scholar
Johnson, Holly, Ollus, Natalia, and Nevala, Swami. Violence against Women: An International Perspective. New York: Springer, 2008.Google Scholar
McQuigg, Ronagh J. A. International Human Rights Law and Domestic Violence: The Effectiveness of International Human Rights Law. New York: Routledge, 2011.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McQuigg, Ronagh J. The Istanbul Convention, Domestic Violence and Human Rights. New York: Routledge, 2017.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Messinger, Adam M., and Guadalupe-Diaz, Xavier L., eds. Transgender Intimate Partner Violence: A Comprehensive Introduction. New York: New York University Press, 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ross, Lee E. Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice. New York: Routledge, 2018.Google Scholar
Santos, Cecilia MacDowell. ‘Women’s Human Rights, Legal Mobilization and Epistemologies of the South’. In The Pluriverse of Human Rights: The Diversity of Struggles for Dignity, ed. Santos, Boaventura de Sousa and Martins, Bruno Sena, 168–85. New York: Routledge, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shackelford, T. K., ed. The SAGE Handbook of Domestic Violence. London: Sage, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sousa Santos, Boaventura de. ‘Poderá o direito ser emancipatório?’ (‘Can the Law be Emancipatory?’) Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais 65 (2003): 3–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Santos, Boaventura de Sousa Toward a New Legal Common Sense: Law, Globalization, and Emancipation, 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sousa Santos, Boaventura de, and Rodríguez-Garavito, Cesar, eds. Law and Globalization from Below: Towards a Cosmopolitan Legality. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sunder, Madhavi, ed. Gender and Feminist Theory in Law and Society Farnham, UK: Ashgate, 2007.Google Scholar
Thiara, Ravi K., Condon, Stephanie A., and Monika, Schröttle, eds. Violence against Women and Ethnicity: Commonalities and Differences across Europe. Leverkusen, Germany: Barbara Budrich, 2011.Google Scholar
Thomas, Dorothy Q., and Beasley, Michele E.. ‘Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Issue’. Human Rights Quarterly, 15 (1993), 6–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vijeyarasa, Ramona, ed. International Women’s Rights Law and Gender Equality: Making the Law Work for Women. London: Routledge, 2021.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wykes, Maggie, and Welsh, Kirsty. Violence, Gender and Justice. London: Sage, 2009.Google Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×