Due Diligence & State Responsibility to Eliminate Violence Against Women: Region Europe

This report analyses the ‘due diligence’ principle and state obligation to eliminate violence against women in Europe.

The ‘due diligence’ principle is now generally accepted to include an obligation of the State to prevent, protect against, prosecute, punish and provide redress for acts of violence against women (“5P’s”).

The report is divided into four main sections:

• Section I is the introduction and it sets out the report’s purpose, scope and methodology. It provides the definition of VAW used in the report and the various forms of violence, contexts and groups of women that form the focus of the report.
• Section II probes the socio-political context in Europe, detailing the relevant socio-politicallegal contexts within which VAW and related State (in)action is taking place. It also elaborates on the forms of violence particularly visible in this region and the manner and extent to which the due diligence principle has unfolded within the region.
• Section III lays out the findings of the report. Trends are identified, good practices illustrated and recommendations made. These are organized according to the five areas in which the due diligence principle is applicable — prevention, protection, prosecution, punishment and provision of redress. In this report, these five areas are also referred to as the ‘5P’s’.
• Section IV closes with conclusions and reflections forfuture action.