Problems with understanding domestic violence as a human rights issue begin with the scope of international human rights law, which is limited to the public sphere. Although international law is gender neutral in theory, in practice it interacts with gender-biased domestic laws and social structures that frequently relegate women to socially and economically inferior status. When gender-neutral international human rights law is applied in these gender-biased social contexts, those making the application do not necessarily challenge the gender bias embedded in the social structure or in the state's determination of its responsibilities. The concept of state responsibility defines the limits of a government's accountability for human rights abuses under international law. Domestic violence has generally been regarded as a private matter in which governments should not interfere and for which they are not accountable. In discussing the limits and value of the equal protection human rights approach to combating domestic violence, the author addresses both practical problems and methodological limitations. Footnotes