ABSTRACT
Historically the phenomenon of violence against women was regarded primarily as a private matter and as a social issue. It was discussed as a welfare issue, a criminal justice issue, subsequently as a public health issue, and in more recent times also as a human rights violation that disproportionately impacts women and girls. Adopting a holistic approach to violence against women, the governmental and non-governmental sectors have been encouraged to include remedies such as the provision of shelters, counselling services, emergency hotline services, legal aid, and perpetrator programmes, in addition to law reform measures. Despite positive developments in respect of standard-setting, awareness-raising and advocacy, the issue of impunity has loomed large in the discourse on violence against women. National, regional and international developments have illustrated concerns about the lack of, or minimal attention to, both State and non-State actor accountability for this human rights violation.
