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What a 'private life' means for women

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posted on 2023-06-08, 23:58 authored by Ciara O'Connell
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has emphasised the right to privacy as it includes an obligation not to interfere in private life. As the Court has expanded upon the definition of the right to privacy, it has determined that as much as there is an inherent negative obligation for the State to respect the right to privacy, there is equally a positive duty for the State to protect and promote the right to private life. In the context of women’s rights, where a considerable number of rights violations occur in the private sphere, regulation of the private in the form of protection from discrimination and violence is fundamental to the promotion of women’s human rights. However, as it stands, regulation in the private sphere is most often concerned with interference in women’s decision-making and autonomy. While the Court has included in the definition of the right to privacy provisions for women such as reproductive health services, it has failed to apply this definition to subsequent women’s rights violations. Despite developments in rhetoric, the Inter-American Court has been reluctant to traverse the divide that exists between the public and private spheres, which can ultimately prove detrimental to the advancement of women’s enjoyment of their rights in the region.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Other

Publisher

Intersentia

Page range

629-645

Book title

The Inter-American Court of Human Rights: theory and practice, present and future

Place of publication

Cambridge

ISBN

9781780683089

Department affiliated with

  • Law Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Editors

Yves Haeck, Clara Burbano-Herrera, Oswaldo Ruiz-Chiriboga

Legacy Posted Date

2016-01-15

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