Fighting Violence Against Women: The Credibility of European and Global Expert Bodies

Violence against women is a widespread phenomenon.

The task of monitoring EU states’ compliance with their commitments in this field is largely dependent on a set of expert Treaty Bodies within the UN and the Council of Europe, which issue recommendations to states on how to improve their performance.

Since these recommendations cannot be legally enforced, scholars posit that Treaty Bodies need to be credible in the eyes of states in order to generate effects.

Yet, the extent to which these bodies’ credibility leads to the implementation of recommendations remains underexplored.

This project assesses the credibility of UN and Council of Europe Treaty Bodies engaged in fighting violence against women, and tests the extent to which their credibility influences states’ implementation of recommendations.

This assessment is necessary in view of improving the functioning of these bodies, stimulating states’ compliance with provisions protecting women from violence and thus, ultimately, ensuring the fulfillment of women’s rights.

Data sources will be official documents and 50 interviews with UN, Council of Europe, and state officials involved in these mechanisms. Results will shed light on these instruments’ effectiveness, highlighting possible areas for improvement.

I will perform this research at the School of Social and Political Science (SSPS) of the University of Edinburgh under the guidance of Prof. Christina Boswell, a world-leading political scientist.

Conducting this project will strengthen my academic profile, preparing me for the tenure-track market and for obtaining advanced funding, which will allow me to establish my own research group.

SSPS will strongly benefit from my stay in three ways, as I will: 1) share my knowledge and provide feedback to colleagues; 2) establish new collaborations between Edinburgh and other academic and non-academic institutes; 3) share my experience with acquiring postdoctoral funding with Edinburgh’s early-career researchers.