Within the third thematic area CAHRV will review and integrate research assessing practical intervention measures and the role of legal frameworks. Some evaluation research has tried to gauge the effectiveness of specific intervention measures (outcome evaluation), whereas other studies have investigated institutional practices, problem definitions, and the views of agency staff and service users (formative evaluation). A related area in evaluation research are cost effectiveness studies that aim to identify those intervention that meet needs in the most efficient and effective manner.

Evaluation research, too, is unevenly distributed across countries, or at least much more visible in some than in others. Among what is readily available, four evaluation fields can be distinguished, each of which includes outcome and formative evaluations: studies evaluating support and services for victims; research into inter-agency cooperation; evaluations of perpetrator programmes; and studies on training professionals to respond (such as in the criminal justice and health care systems).

Legal responses to human rights violations include the enforcement of criminal law and civil legal measures such as separation and divorce, parental rights, or civil injunctions. These interventions are often last resort measures that apply to a minority of interpersonal violence only. Criminal law, in particular, can be difficult to enforce when violations occur in the family or in close personal relationships. Many instances of interpersonal violence are increasingly recognized as crimes; yet, the effects of law and policy are not predictable or always positive. Tensions between women's rights to safety and children's rights illustrate the reach and the limitations of legal interventions. CAHRV will contribute a critical overview of current law, to which international treaties and conventions add a further layer of complexity.

For more information, please contact Jalna Hanmer, University of Sunderland, England, or Daniela Gloor, Social Insight, Switzerland.