Domestic Abuse and Human Rights presents an overview of the relevance of the European Convention on Human Rights to domestic abuse. It has three aims: first, to consider the relevant case law and application of the key articles to questions around domestic abuse; second, to consider at a theoretical level the balance between protection and autonomy at the heart of the legal response to domestic abuse; third, to propose practical application of a human rights approach to issues around domestic abuse, with particular emphasis placed on the significance of the Istanbul Convention on Preventing and Combatting Violence against Women.

The book argues that a human rights approach requires states to take a proactive stance towards domestic abuse. It should no longer be regarded as a private matter, but as a human rights approach mandating state intervention, although within limits. So understood the European Convention on Human Rights provides a powerful impetus for states to ensure an effective response to the major problem of domestic abuse.