On June 17, 2025, the Institute for Comparative Criminal Law, in cooperation with the Feminist Law Clinic had the pleasure of welcoming Professor Caroline Bettinger-López for her lecture titled "Domestic Violence as a Human Rights Violation – A View from the United States and Beyond."
Professor Bettinger-López began by recounting a case that has been a recurring focus of her work for over two decades: the case of Jessica Lenahan. The failure of the police to enforce a restraining order against Lenahan’s ex-husband ultimately led to the deaths of their three daughters. Although the order, and Colorado state law, included the language “shall arrest” in case of a violation, and a law was in effect requiring officers to make an arrest whenever a domestic violence restraining order was violated, the U.S. Supreme Court held that police officers retained discretion in enforcement under the U.S. Constitution.
Refusing to accept the Supreme Court’s ruling, Lenahan approached the American Civil Liberties Union, stating: “Everybody has a boss. The Supreme Court needs a boss.” With the support of the ACLU and Professor Bettinger-López, the case was taken to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. In a landmark decision, the Commission found that U.S. police and courts had violated Articles I, II, VII, and XVIII of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man. From these violations, it derived a state duty to protect women and children from domestic violence. Drawing on this ruling, Professor Bettinger-López illustrated how gender-based violence constitutes a violation of fundamental human rights, such as the right to a dignified life, to equality, and security of the person. The conclusion of this first part of the lecture already gave rise to a lively discussion.
In the second part, Professor Bettinger-López discussed her efforts to integrate human rights principles into U.S. law. In the face of the fact that the Commission’s decision in the Lenahan case placed no binding obligations on U.S. lawmakers, her policy work came to focus on both collaboration with municipalities and advocacy at the federal level. For instance, she contributed to the development of a gender-sensitive guidance for police officers responding to domestic violence cases.
Professor Bettinger-López also offered a critique of U.S. exceptionalism by taking a global approach: while the United States has developed policies and programs aimed at eliminating gender inequality abroad, it has long lacked a comparable domestic framework. In 2023, Professor Bettinger-López served as a Senior Advisor in the Biden-Harris Administration and co-led the development of such a framework: the U.S. National Plan to End Gender-Based Violence. Drawing inspiration from models adopted by other countries, the Plan particularly stresses prevention and includes mechanisms for monitoring its implementation.
Following a lively round of applause, the lecture concluded with audience members raising nuanced questions about gender-based violence in the U.S.
Salka Suhr