The Ethiopian Legal Frameworks for the Protection of Women and Girls from Gender-Based Violence

Abstract

The objective of this article is to investigate how legal frameworks address gender-based violence in Ethiopia? The research adopted a qualitative approach that utilized secondary sources and reviewed national legal frameworks promulgated and international instruments ratified by Ethiopia. According to this study, Ethiopia, where gender-based violence persistently exists, has adopted insufficient legal frameworks. Still, gender-sensitive legal frameworks shy away from giving a holistic definition to gender-based violence and did not show the scope of the term violence against women in full-spectrum either. Gender-related laws adopted by Ethiopia are inadequate to give civil remedies to those affected by gender-based violence. There are also neither separate domestic violence acts nor any kind of laws adopted to give specific civil remedies for the victims. This is attributable to the absence of comprehensive anti-violence laws in Ethiopia that affect law enforcement from pursuing incidents of violence within marriage and cohabitation on the premise that there are no clear legal provisions.