Men’s violence against women in intimate partner relationships is a comprehensive problem in society both in Sweden and in the world. Most of the violence occurs at home which makes it a well-hidden problem and the lack of knowledge about men´s violence against women in intimate partner relationships makes it difficult to tackle. The purpose of this essay was to study the character of the violence, how comprehensive the violence is and the actions that Sweden has taken to end men´s violence against women in intimate partner relationships. The result shows that violence in intimate partner relationships occurs in all ages, ethnicities and social classes. The violence can be psychological, physical, sexual, material or economic and the abuser successively takes control over the women and her life. Prejudice about who the abuser is are common and if the abuser doesn’t fit in to the stereotype we seem to look for explanations in the implication of alcohol, anger issues or cultural background. We also seem to mistrust the women and rather than focusing on the crime that has been committed against her we focus on questions such as; why didn’t she leave sooner? To fight this social problem the government has developed a national strategy. This strategy points out that the inequality between women and men is the biggest reason that the violence occurs. According to the strategy education within all levels of society is the key to change the image of femininity and masculinity that feeds inequality between women and men.

<p>This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka.</p><p>Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held.</p><p>In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation.</p><p>Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process.</p><p>International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building.</p><p>Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.</p>

This thesis is about issues concerning the implementation of women's human rights in Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has had a conflict between the Government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam, LTTE for two decades. Since 2002 there has been a ceasefire agreement in place, which is being violated by both parties. Before being abandoned in 2003, one woman was present during the peace talks that were held. In this paper I present the results of my field research conducted in Sri Lanka in November and December of 2005. The aim was to find out how women were active in the peace process since it is stipulated in international conventions that they have a right to participation. During the interviews with women activists it became evident that women were not involved in the official peace process. Therefore the thesis is about women’s human rights in Sri Lanka and the obstacles for their implementation. Two main reasons for the lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka are identified. Firstly, for reasons of culture and patriarchal structures, there is a general lack of implementation internationally of women’s human rights. Secondly, the unresolved conflict situation in Sri Lanka, which reflects the unequal power relations between men and women that existed prior to the conflict. The lack of implementation of women’s human rights in Sri Lanka results in women not being present in the political life and they are therefore not part of the official peace process. International conventions such as the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, CEDAW and the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on peace and security are addressed in the thesis in order to examine women’s human rights and their right to participation in politics and peace building. Finally, I conclude that in order to include women in the official peace negotiations women need to actively participate in politics. The method presented to ensure such participation is that of affirmative action. It is a measure that falls under the category of temporary measures, which is suggested in CEDAW article 4.1.

Sveriges ratificering av CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, eller Kvinnokonventionen, är ett internationellt traktat framtaget av Förenta nationerna i syfte att stärka kvinnors mänskliga rättigheter. Som det första landet att ratificera konventionen har Sverige varken transformerat eller inkorporerat konventionen i svensk lagstiftning, då svensk rätt har ansetts redan vara i normharmoni med konventionen. Tvister som uppstår i en transnationell kontext kan emellertid orsaka att kvinnors rättigheter i skilda regelverk hamnar i kläm, och föranleder frågan hur detta förhåller sig till åtagandet av Kvinnokonventionen. Det internationellt privaträttsliga rättsområdet har utvecklats i syfte att underlätta för domstolar att hantera gränsöverskridande tvister. I en gränsöverskridande tvist är det emellertid risk för att rättigheter kan förgås när två regelverk ser olika ut och det ena regelverket blir tillämpligt framför det andra. Lagval som landat i svensk rätt och som exempelvis behandlat anspråk från kvinnor på typfrämmande rättsinstitut såsom mahr, och som inte har en motsvarighet i svensk rätt, har underkänts i Högsta domstolen. Kvinnan, som inrättat sig efter sitt i ursprungslandet ingångna äktenskapsavtal, står därmed plötsligt utan denna rättighet. Uppsatsen behandlar just denna komplexa relation som kan uppstå vid gränsöverskridande tvister mellan svenska rättsregler och förhållningssätt, och andra länders rättsregler, seder och bruk. Vidare testas om svensk rätt, när den inte erkänner ursprungslandets seder, uppfyller åtagandet som följer av Kvinnokonventionen i dessa avseenden. Tre rättsfall som behandlar det typfrämmande rättsinstitutet mahr, barnäktenskap respektive månggifte används för att illustrera den transnationella kontexten. Slutsatsen som kan dras är att Sverige i vissa avseenden inte uppfyller sitt åtagande och att den svenska rättspolitiken inte tillräckligt har beaktat de negativa konsekvenser som kan uppstå för kvinnor när deras ursprungliga rättigheter underkänns abrupt. Motargument mot denna slutsats som stödjer den svenska hållningen behandlas också för visa på det komplexa rättsläget som för närvarande råder. / Sweden’s ratification of CEDAW, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, is an international treaty developed by the United Nations with the aim of strengthening women’s human rights. However, as the first country to ratify the convention, Sweden has neither transformed nor incorporated the convention into Swedish legislation, as already existing Swedish law is considered to be in harmony with the convention. Disputes that arise in a transnational context can, however, lead to women’s rights not being fully considered when dealing with different regulations and raises the question if the commitment to comply with the Convention is being upheld. Private international law has been developed with the aim of enabling courts to deal with cross-border disputes by means of rules on how to determine the choice of law, which court has jurisdiction in the case, and recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. However, when deciding on these issues in a cross-border dispute, there is a risk that rights may be forfeited when two regulations are different and one of them becomes applicable over the other. Choice of law rules that has decided that Swedish law is applicable in cases that deal with claims from women regarding, for example, their right to mahr according to the law of their home country, and which has no equivalent in Swedish law, has been rejected by the Supreme Court in some instances. The woman has thus suddenly lost her right. This essay deals with the complex relationship that can arise in cross-border disputes between Swedish legal rules, and other countries’ legal rules and customs. Furthermore, it is tested whether Swedish law, when it does not recognize the customs of the foreign country, still meets the rules stipulated in the Convention in these respects. Three cases dealing with mahr, child marriage and polygamy are used to illustrate the transnational context. The conclusion drawn is that Sweden, in some respects, does not fulfill its commitment and that Swedish legal policy has not sufficiently considered the negative consequences that may arise for women when their rights, according to their home country, are abruptly rejected. Counterarguments against this conclusion, in line with the Swedish approach, are also dealt with to show the complexity of the legal situation that currently prevails.