1. © Caroline Bettinger-Lopez
HUMAN RIGHTS AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: JESSICA LENAHAN (GONZALES) V. UNITED STATES
© Caroline Bettinger-Lopez

2. Lenahan v USA
Advocacy Video

3. ALARMING STATISTICS DV is the leading cause of injury to U.S. women
between the ages of 15-44; more than car
accidents, muggings, and rapes combined.
Each year, 1.3 million American women are
physically assaulted by an intimate partner.
1 out of 4 American women are abused by their
partners.
50% of all homeless women and children in the
U.S. are fleeing domestic violence.

4. TRANSFORMING DV VIA THE HUMAN RIGHTS FRAMEWORK:
An Anonymous, Private Affair  A Systematic Societal Epidemic Demanding Government Accountability

5. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States
June 1999
Simon Gonzales abducts 3 daughters
Police fail to respond to Jessica’s calls
Shoot-out ensues
Simon shot
Daughters found dead in truck

6. Colorado Restraining Orders & Mandatory Arrest Law
“A peace officer shall use every reasonable means to enforce a restraining order.”
“A peace officer shall arrest, or, if an arrest would be impractical under the circumstances, seek a warrant for the arrest of [the] restrained person.”
-- Text on Jessica’s restraining order, quoting Colorado’s mandatory arrest law for violators

7. 5:50PM - 3:25AM: Jessica makes contact with the police 9 times through phone calls and visits.
Insisting they couldn’t do anything to help the girls, the police went to dinner, responded to a fire lane violation, did paperwork, and filed a missing dog report.

8. Failing to Learn from Tragedy
After the fact, public attention focused on Jessica’s family dynamics and not on the police mishandling of the case.
Stereotypes and misunderstandings of family violence dynamics:
“What safer place could children be than with one of their parents, the mother or the father?”
-- Castle Rock Police Chief Tony Lane,
interview for 60 Minutes

9. Robbed of Her Day in Court
“We do not believe that these provisions of Colorado law truly made enforcement of restraining orders mandatory.”
-- Justice Scalia, writing for the 7-2 majority opinion

10. Consequences of Supreme Court Decision
Outraged domestic violence and women’s rights advocates
Sent message that restraining orders do not have to be enforced
Fostered culture of impunity for rogue, lazy or misguided officers
Left Jessica deprived of a voice or her day in court
End to her quest for justice?

11. INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION of HUMAN RIGHTS
7 human rights experts from the Americas who consider petitions charging that countries violated their human rights under international treaties. Based in Washington D.C.
Jessica, her family, and legal team in front of the IACHR building

12. Comparing Domestic and International Legal Regimes
U.S. Law
International Law
No government duty to protect individuals from private violence, even where there is a clear and preventable threat
(DeShaney v. Winnebago County, U.S. Sup. Ct 1989)
State responsibility ensues when the state:
1) knew or ought to have known of real and immediate risk to an identified individual by another person, and
2) fails to take reasonable steps to prevent the harm
(IACHR; European Court of Human Rights)

13. International Cases that go Beyond U. S
International Cases that go Beyond U.S. Law in Protecting Individuals & Holding States Accountable:

14. International Cases that go Beyond U. S
International Cases that go Beyond U.S. Law in Protecting Individuals & Holding States Accountable:

15. Article I (Right to life and personal security)
Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States Inter-American Commission on Human Rights July 21, 2011
Violation of rights under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man:
Article I (Right to life and personal security)
Article II (Equal protection and non-discrimination)
Article VII (Special Protections for Children)
Article XVIII (Due process/Judicial Protection)

16. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States July 21, 2011
Petitioners alleged failure of the US government to exercise due diligence because:
Failure to enforce Jessica’s restraining order
Failure to protect the lives of three daughters
Failure on a systemic level to protect from the domestic violence epidemic

17. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States July 21, 2011
DUE DILIGENCE
“[A] State may incur international responsibility for failing to act with due diligence to prevent, investigate, sanction and offer reparations for acts of violence against women; a duty which may apply to actions committed by private actors...” ¶ 126

18. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States July 21, 2011
DUE DILIGENCE & DISCRIMINATION/INTERSECTIONALITY
“[A] State’s failure to act with due diligence to protect women from violence constitutes a form of discrimination, and denies women their right to equality before the law…” ¶ 111
“…certain groups of women … [are at] particular risk for acts of violence due to having been subjected to discrimination based on more than one factor, among these girl-children, and women pertaining to ethnic, racial, and minority groups...” ¶ 127

19. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States July 21, 2011
ELIMINATE PREJUDICE & STEREOTYPES
“States must adopt the required measures to modify the social and cultural patterns of conduct of men and women and to eliminate prejudices, customary practices …based on the idea of the inferiority or superiority of either of the sexes, and on stereotyped roles for men and women.” ¶ 126

20. Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States July 21, 2011
JUDICIAL REMEDIES “…link between the duty to act with due diligence and the obligation of States to guarantee access to adequate and effective judicial remedies for victims and their family members when they suffer acts of violence.” ¶ 127

21. IACHR Recommendations
3 Individual Remedies
Investigation into daughters’ deaths
Investigation into systemic police failures
Reparations
4 Policy Remedies
Law/policy reform
Protection Orders must protect women from violence
Protection measures must protect children in the DV context.
Address stereotypes/discrimination re DV victims
Investigations into missing children in DV context

22. HOW to use International Law in Your Work: Bi-Directional Advocacy
Outward Advocacy
How can we frame domestic social justice problems in international terms, before international forums?
 Inward Advocacy
How can we use international law in domestic forums to address domestic social justice problems?

23. Outwards Advocacy: Using the Human Rights Framework to Further Domestic Social Justice
File cases in international forums
Draft amicus briefs in cases of interest
Seek precautionary measures to prevent irreparable harm
Request a thematic hearing
Engage with U.N. Rapporteurs and Solicit on site visits/report
Solicit advisory opinions from the IACHR

24. Bringing It Home: Using International Rights Law in Domestic Advocacy
Domestic Litigation (Amicus briefs, Footnotes, affidavits, expert reports)
Legislative/Policy Advocacy (federal/state, local human rights initiatives; testimony
Trainings (Police, judges, case workers, teachers)
Political Pressure
Public Opinion, Education, and Advocacy
Coalition and Movement Building

25. DOJ Investigations Findings Announced in 2011
Puerto Rico, New Orleans, and Maricopa County Police Departments engaged in patterns or practices of discriminatory and unconstitutional policing, including gender-biased policing in their response to domestic and sexual violence.

26. DOJ Investigations DOJ Conclusions (2011):
The NOPD engaged in a “pattern and practice of general discrimination in the Department’s under-enforcement and under-investigation of violence against women.”  
The PRPD failed “to adequately address sexual assault in Puerto Rico.”
The consent decree between DOJ and the PRPD requires the PRPD to “respond to and investigate reports of sexual assault and domestic violence professionally, effectively, and in a manner free of gender-based bias.”

27. DOJ Guidance
In 2012, advocates proposed DOJ guidance on law enforcement response to domestic and sexual violence that would describe the legal framework & fundamental components of constitutional policing and areas of police misconduct that may violate federal law.
DOJ Guidance for Law Enforcement
Domestic and Sexual Violence Policies and Trainings
Investigating Domestic and Sexual Violence
Domestic and Sexual Violence Committed by Officers
Law Enforcement Supervision and Accountability

28. Local Domestic Violence/Human Rights Resolutions

29. Language of Domestic Violence/Human Rights Resolutions
“Recognition of domestic violence as a human rights concern”
“Freedom from domestic violence is a fundamental human right”
Cites to Lenahan case, UN documents
Albany, NY (2013)
Baltimore, MD (2012)
Buffalo, NY (2012)
Cincinnati, OH (2011)
Miami-Dade, FL (2012)
Miami Springs, FL (2012)
Montgomery County, AL (2012)
Seattle, WA (2012)

30. Miami-Dade County Resolution
“This Resolution shall serve as a charge to all local government agencies to incorporate these principles into their policies and practices.” July 7, 2012

31. Domestic Violence & Human Rights Resolutions: Next Steps
How to increase teeth?
Municipal level
State level
Federal level
Sense of Congress
Sense of the Senate
Executive Proclamation

32. Ideas for Implementation
Housing
Extend VAWA’s housing provisions (re, transfer, eviction, bifurcating lease, PHA emergency transfer plan) into state subsidized housing
Child Custody
Judges must interpret “shall consider” as “heavily weigh” domestic violence evidence when considering the best interests of the child in custody disputes