Losing sight of the abuse: how and why women’s and children’s rights are violated in child contact decisions after intimate partner violence in Europe

Abstract

ABSTRACT International human rights law sets out the right to life and freedom from torture and ill-treatment. This includes the positive obligation of states to prevent, protect and punish acts of private individuals that threaten the life and limb of another person. Permeating through many areas of law, this duty of due diligence is particularly important for women and children who require protection from abuse perpetrated by intimate partners or family members. The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence details these obligations, including in family law. Based on the work of the convention’s independent monitoring body (GREVIO), this article offers a categorisation of factors and mechanisms that thwart women’s and children’s rights in family law proceedings, resulting in unsafe child contact regulation after intimate partner violence. It shows the shared nature of these factors across several European jurisdictions and places them in context with the interpretative work of international human rights bodies and the European Court of Human Rights. Situating the discussion in the context of growing anti-feminist movements seeking to expand patriarchal notions of family authority, it argues for an understanding of family law processes as a setting for human rights violations.