Political Science
Russia, domestic violence, and barriers to sex discrimination cases at the European Court of Human Rights, 1998–2021
Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
Women in Council of Europe (CoE) countries face pervasive gender discrimination, but often encounter national police and judges who refuse to recognize it. Women’ rights activists have turned to the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) for redress. However, relatively few gender discrimination cases have been heard at the ECtHR. We examine the Court’s case law on domestic violence as a form of discrimination, and activists’ legal strategies in ex-CoE member Russia as a case study. We conclude that there is a “magic formula” for success in bringing such cases through domestic courts and then to a positive judgment at the ECtHR, which includes: determined applicants willing to endure the process, lawyers experienced in gender discrimination litigation who marshal data to document systemic inequality, and references to other international treaty bodies that deal with gender discrimination.
Publication Title
Violence Against Women under European Human Rights Law: From Supranational Standards to National Realities
Publication Date
2024
First Page
114
Last Page
136
ISBN
9781035346660
DOI
10.4337/9781035346660.00015
Keywords
access to justice, domestic violence, European Court of Human Rights, gender discrimination, Russia
Repository Citation
Sperling, Valerie and Sundstrom, Lisa Mcintosh, "Russia, domestic violence, and barriers to sex discrimination cases at the European Court of Human Rights, 1998–2021" (2024). Political Science. 85.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_political_science/85
