Violence Against Women as a Social Justice Issue

Violence against women has been identified as an issue of both public health and human rights. However, there has been little discussion in the literature on violence against women as a social justice issue. The following discussion applies prominent writings on social justice theory from Miller and Rawls to examine violence against women as a social justice issue. In addition to violence against women relating to social justice principles, the discussion also explores how society’s response to violence against women adds to the identification of the topic as a social justice issue, focusing on how violence against women relates to the distribution of disadvantage, gaps in addressing victims’ needs and safety, insufficient services for long-term recovery, and issues with implementing victims’ rights.