Women and children are often in great danger in the place where they should be safest: within their families. They are denied their human rights and their lives are stolen from them by the ever-present threat of violence. Societies and governments often do not recognize domestic violence as a human rights violation. Violence that takes place at home is viewed as a private matter, and often only minimal efforts are made to stop it.  

Working to end domestic violence can feel like an uphill battle. The violence is entrenched in society and it is not easy to effect change or improvement. The work can be strengthened by using the international human rights standards that States have agreed to uphold. Your government cannot make promises on the international stage and then try to forget them at home. Relying on human right standards will enable you to hold your government accountable if they do not practice what they promise.  

Addressing domestic violence as a human rights violation empowers women and other victims/survivors of domestic violence. As active rights-holders, they can claim the rights to which their governments and States have committed themselves. The State is obliged to prevent, eradicate and punish domestic violence and is accountable if it fails to comply or uphold human rights.

DOVA  

DOVA, the Human Rights Assessment Instrument on Domestic Violence provides a step-by-step method which helps you to assess if your country is complying with its human rights and other international obligations.  

How does it work?  

The DOVA assessment process is divided in seven steps. Each step contains questions, examples and checklists to guide the data collection and analysis. The analysis results in a concrete set of recommendations for more effective laws or policies that protect and respect human rights. This information will be used to develop an action plan to lobby for policy reform and to raise awareness about the findings of the assessment. A full assessment process can take between four and six months.    

Why use DOVA?  

Using DOVA to analyse a problem helps to:  

• Gain a better understanding of the situation;
• Make a direct link between a problem and relevant human rights issues;
• Assess the impact of the problem on the rights of all groups affected;
• Build alliances with other stakeholders;
• Draw evidence-based conclusions about what the government can do to improve the situation and meet its human rights obligations;
• Make an advocacy action plan;
• Increase the capacity of your organisation to use a human rights framework.  

Where to find DOVA?  

DOVA was published December 2011 and can be downloaded free of charge here. DOVA is available in English.  

You can also access DOVA from our HRIRC tools database.

The DOVA summary sheet is available for download here.

Support to users  

DOVA can be used independently. However, people and NGOs may find doing a human rights assessment challenging. A range of workshops and other forms of support are available. Please contact us to discuss the possibilities.

Contact

For a printed copy of DOVA and/or information about support to users, please do not hesitate to contact Rights4Change.

E-mail: l.droesen(at)rights4change(dot)org or info(at)humanrightsimpact(dot)org.

DOVA was developed with support from:  

The project partners:

• Rights for Change,
• the Netherlands Center for Legal Civic Initiatives,
• Albania Masimanyane Women's Support Centre,
• South Africa Mosaic, Training, Service and Healing Centre for Women, South Africa
• WILDAF, Women in Law and Development, Ghana
• ZWLA, Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association, Zimbabwe
• Centro de la Mujer Peruana Flora Tristan, Peru
• Independent consultant Anara Moldasheva, Kyrgyzstan
• WOREC, Women's Rehabilitation Centre, Nepal
• The Network/Research Center for Combating Domestic Violence (CDVN), China
• Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• HIVOS
• PSO