consequently womens experiences were until relatively recently not adequately addressed by the human rights framework the work of activists human rights mechanisms and states has been critical in ensuring that the human rights framework has grown and adjusted to encapsulate the genderspecific dimensions of human rights violations in order to better protect women effectively ensuring womens human rights requires a comprehensive understanding of the underlying societal structures and power relations that define and influence womens ability to enjoy their human rights these power structures have an impact on all aspects of life from law and politics to economic and social policy family and community life