ABSTRACT

Jyoti’s case in India is an extreme example of gender violence. However, the way it became a cause of many different groups and coalitions, some of which are based outside of India, is not so unusual: transnational advocacy relating to domestic violence has been happening and continues to take place at multiple levels and in varying spaces. At the international level, the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) on women, peace and security, are two pivotal international instruments dealing with violence against women and are used at the international level. Article 1 of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (DEVAW) accepted by the General Assembly in 1993 defi nes violence against women as ‘any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, whether occurring in public or in private life’ (Article 1).