Mohammed HassanPolitical Science 286Professor Renu Bhagat04/23/2014Human Rights and Gender-Based ViolenceHuman Rights and Gender-Based Violence by Sally Engle Merry is a study conducted that investigates the tensions ongoing events occurring between local justice and international law and one that discusses approaches to decreasing gender-based violence. In addition to being an active member of various feminist organizations based in several countries, Sally Merry is also an observer of UN diplomatic negotiations, allowing her to provide an inside look at how human rights law views women authorities responsible for protecting their citizens while still strengthening and expanding state power. Human rights legislation and the legal protection of violence against women are still considered moderately new concepts in most countries. This consequently leads to significant differences between what is decided by the United Nations and what women actually experience in everyday circumstances in their local communities. Sally Merry argues that human rights law must be explained in local terms to be effective and accepted by local communities who have existing social hierarchies. Distinguish between US and international. Also including that gender violence is often deeply rooted in religious and cultural beliefs, so achieving change is often strongly opposed by those same communities. Various effective approaches to decreasing gender-based violence include criminalization; retraining programs for rapists and human rights interventions. Sally strongly pushes the criminalization of gender violence because she sees it as a formidable way to decrease gender-based violence... middle of paper... a tool in the hands of the people who appeal to it to reach their different, often conflicting political objectives. In conclusion, Sally Merry discusses in her book the processes in which the local and the global intertwine, she identifies the places where global, national and local processes are revealed. Emphasizes the use of criminalization, abuser retraining programs, and human rights interventions to decrease gender-based violence. It also dictates that for human rights laws to be effective and accepted, they must be explained in local terms. Given the many differences that mainly concern culture and religion, formulating laws based on local terms is clearly an effective way to create laws that people can agree on. Once again the differentiation between the US and international spheres in terms of problems and solutions relating to gender violence.