Repensando la protección jurídica contra la violencia de género y

doméstica en Angola: derechos humanos y gobernanza

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21246617

ISSN 3091-1575

REVIEW ARTICLE

Rethinking legal protection against gender-based and domestic violence

in Angola: human rights and governance

 Yonayka Licea-Suárez

yona[email protected].ao

Universidade Internacional do Cuanza (UNIC). Angola.

FUNIBER, España.

Received: 10 May 2026 / Accepted: 15 June 2026 / Published online: 15 July 2026

Yonayka Licea-Suárez Lisandra León-Brizuela Ariadna Moya-Rodríguez

Leonel Céspedes-Tamayo Osvaldo Hipólito-Fernando

Abstract Gender-based and domestic violence remain among

the most signicant challenges to the protection of women’s human

rights in Angola. This study aimed to analyse the conceptual evo-

lution of gender-based violence, examine the applicable national

and international legal framework, and assess the institutional chal-

lenges aecting the eectiveness of the protection system from a

socio-legal perspective. A qualitative research design was adopted

through a legal-documentary review of scientic literature, nation-

al legislation, international human rights instruments, and institu-

tional documents published mainly between 2020 and 2026. The

ndings reveal important legal advances through the Constitution

of Angola, Law No. 25/11 on Domestic Violence, and internation-

al human rights instruments that strengthen the legal protection of

women. However, signicant challenges remain regarding eective

access to justice, institutional coordination, prevention strategies,

and the implementation of public policies. As its main contribution,

the study proposes a socio-legal model structured around ve stra-

tegic dimensions—prevention, comprehensive protection, access to

justice, institutional coordination, and comprehensive reparation—

to strengthen the State’s response and improve the eective protec-

tion of women’s rights in Angola.

Keywords gender-based violence, domestic violence, human

rights, angola.

Resumen La violencia de género y la violencia doméstica conti-

núan representando uno de los principales desafíos para la protec-

ción de los derechos humanos de las mujeres en Angola. El objetivo

de este estudio fue analizar la evolución conceptual de la violencia

de género, examinar el marco jurídico nacional e internacional apli-

cable y valorar los principales desafíos institucionales que limitan

la ecacia del sistema de protección desde una perspectiva socio-

jurídica. Se desarrolló una investigación cualitativa basada en una

revisión jurídico-documental de literatura cientíca, legislación na-

cional, instrumentos internacionales y documentos institucionales

publicados principalmente entre 2020 y 2026. El análisis permitió

identicar avances relevantes en el reconocimiento normativo de

los derechos de las mujeres mediante la Constitución de Angola,

la Lei n.º 25/11 contra la violencia doméstica y los instrumentos

internacionales de derechos humanos. No obstante, persisten limi-

taciones relacionadas con el acceso efectivo a la justicia, la coor-

dinación interinstitucional, la prevención y la implementación de

las políticas públicas. Como principal aporte, el estudio propone

un modelo sociojurídico integrado por cinco dimensiones estraté-

gicas —prevención, protección integral, acceso a la justicia, coor-

dinación institucional y reparación integral— orientado a fortalecer

la respuesta del Estado y garantizar una protección efectiva de los

derechos de las mujeres en Angola.

Palabras clave violencia de género, violencia doméstica, dere-

chos humanos, angola.

How to cite

Licea-Suárez,Y., León-Brizuela, L., Moya-Rodríguez, A., Céspedes-Tamayo, L., & Hipólito-Fernando, H. (2026). Rethinking legal protection against gender-

based and domestic violence in Angola: human rights and governance. Journal of Law and Epistemic Studies, 4, e185. https://doi.org/10.5281/

zenodo.21246617

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

Introduction

Gender-based violence constitutes one of the most seri-

ous manifestations of human rights violations and one of

the principal challenges confronting contemporary legal sys-

tems. Its persistence reects structural inequalities based on

gender that restrict the eective enjoyment of fundamental

rights, including the rights to life, dignity, personal integrity,

equality, and freedom. Although the international commu-

nity has, over recent decades, strengthened the normative

framework aimed at preventing (Jesrani & Garcia, 2025;

Sivakumaran, 2025), sanctioning, and eradicating all forms

of violence against women (Gómez, 2024), this phenomenon

continues to represent a highly complex legal, social, and

political challenge, particularly within developing countries

(UN Women, 2024; Jesrani & Garcia, 2025).

The World Health Organization estimates that approxi-

mately one in three women has experienced physical or sex-

ual violence during her lifetime, most frequently perpetrated

by an intimate partner or former partner. This statistic under-

scores both the global scale of the problem and its profound

implications for public health, sustainable development, and

the eective protection of human rights (World Health Orga-

nization, 2021). Likewise, recent evidence published by UN

Women and the United Nations Oce on Drugs and Crime

(UNODC) indicates that the home remains one of the most

dangerous environments for women and girls, particularly in

cases of lethal violence perpetrated by intimate partners or

family members (UN Women & UNODC, 2024; Stöckl &

Sorenson, 2024).

Within the African continent, gender-based violence re-

mains closely associated with historical, cultural, econom-

ic, and institutional factors. Persistent inequalities between

women and men, certain traditional practices, economic

dependency, the limited availability of protection services,

and barriers to accessing justice collectively contribute to the

continued prevalence of domestic violence and other forms

of gender-based violence (UNFPA, 2024). In response to

these challenges, regional legal instruments such as the Pro-

tocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo Protocol) (Afri-

can Union, 2003) have reinforced the obligations of States

to adopt legislative, administrative, and judicial measures

designed to ensure the eective protection of women’s rights

(Mintarsih et al., 2026; Davies et al., 2025).

Angola has made signicant normative progress in ad-

vancing gender equality and the protection of women’s

rights (Grubba et al., 2024) through the incorporation of

international commitments, the enactment of specic leg-

islation addressing domestic violence (Worthen & Schleif-

er, 2024), and the gradual strengthening of public policies.

Nevertheless, numerous scholarly studies and international

reports demonstrate that violence against women continues

to constitute a signicant challenge for the legal system and

for the institutions responsible for the prevention, protection,

investigation, and prosecution of such acts. The persistent

underreporting of cases, insucient interinstitutional coor-

dination, sociocultural barriers to reporting, and limitations

aecting eective access to justice undermine the eective-

ness of the protective measures established under the Ango-

lan legal framework.

Although the scientic literature has extensively examined

gender-based violence from medical, psychological, and

sociological perspectives, legal scholarship specically ad-

dressing the Angolan context remains limited and, in many

instances, approaches normative issues in isolation without

incorporating an interdisciplinary human rights-based per-

spective. This situation reveals a signicant research gap

concerning the integrated analysis of the conceptual evo-

lution of gender-based violence, the development of the

national and international legal framework, and the institu-

tional challenges faced by Angola in ensuring the eective

protection of women (Matos & Santos, 2025; Sivakumaran,

2025).

Against this background, the present article aims to anal-

yse gender-based violence and domestic violence against

women in Angola from a socio-legal and human rights per-

spective (Ibreck, 2024), identifying the principal normative

and institutional challenges that constrain the eectiveness

of the existing protection system. To this end, the study un-

dertakes a legal-documentary review of the specialized sci-

entic literature, Angolan legislation, and the principal inter-

national and regional human rights instruments concerning

the protection of women’s rights. The ndings provide the

basis for proposing an integrated interpretative framework

that contributes to strengthening public policies and legal

mechanisms aimed at preventing, addressing, and eradicat-

ing gender-based violence in Angola.

Methodology

This study adopted a qualitative research approach based

on a descriptive and analytical legal-documentary design.

The methodological strategy consisted of a narrative review

of the scientic literature and the principal normative sour-

ces relating to gender-based violence and domestic violence

against women, intending to examine the conceptual evolu-

tion of these legal categories and the challenges confronting

Angola’s protection system from a human rights perspective.

Following the application of the inclusion and exclusion

criteria, a total of 68 documents were selected, including

peer-reviewed scientic articles, international legal instru-

ments, legislation, academic books, and technical reports,

which constituted the documentary corpus analysed in this

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

research.

The literature search was conducted between January

and March 2026 using the Scopus, Web of Science, SciE-

LO, Redalyc, and Google Scholar databases. This search

was complemented by an examination of Angolan national

legislation, international human rights instruments, reports

issued by specialized organizations, and ocial documents

published by international organizations. The search strategy

employed combinations of the keywords gender-based vio-

lence, domestic violence, women’s rights, Angola, human

rights, legal protection, and violence against women, toge-

ther with their Spanish and Portuguese equivalents, using the

Boolean operators AND and OR.

The inclusion criteria comprised peer-reviewed scientic

articles, academic books, current legislation, international

treaties, and institutional reports published primarily be-

tween 2020 and 2026, owing to their relevance to the An-

golan legal and social context. In addition, seminal doctri-

nal works and foundational international legal instruments

were incorporated where their inclusion was essential to the

theoretical and legal framework of the study. Publications

that were duplicated, lacked academic support, constituted

opinion literature, or were not directly related to the research

objectives were excluded from the review.

The information collected was subjected to a process of

documentary analysis, legal interpretation, and thematic

synthesis. The selected documents were organized into four

analytical categories: (i) the conceptual evolution of gen-

der-based violence; (ii) domestic violence as a manifestation

of structural inequality; (iii) the national and international

legal framework for the protection of women’s rights; and

(iv) institutional challenges to the prevention, response to,

and prosecution of violence in Angola. This procedure ena-

bled the integration of the principal doctrinal, normative,

and institutional contributions into a critical analysis aimed

at identifying the strengths, limitations, and opportunities for

improving the legal protection system.

Finally, the study adhered to the principles of academic

integrity, methodological transparency, and scientic rigour

through the exclusive use of veriable sources, accurately

referenced in accordance with the APA (7th edition) guideli-

nes, thereby ensuring the traceability of the information and

the reliability of the analysis.

Results and discussion

The doctrinal and comparative analysis of spe-

cialised legal scThe Conceptual Evolution of Gen-

der-Based Violence

The legal understanding of gender-based violence has un-

dergone a signicant transformation over recent decades,

evolving from a narrow conception limited to domestic vi-

olence within the family to the recognition of a structural

phenomenon rooted in historically unequal power relations

between women and men. Initially, legal responses focused

primarily on protecting family unity and sanctioning acts of

physical violence committed within the domestic sphere.

However, the progressive incorporation of a human rights-

based approach has led to the recognition that violence

against women constitutes a form of gender-based discrimi-

nation and a violation of fundamental rights that extends be-

yond the private domain.

This conceptual shift was consolidated through a series of

international legal instruments that redened the scope of le-

gal protection aorded to women. The Convention on the

Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Wom-

en (CEDAW) established the obligation of States to adopt

measures aimed at eliminating structural discrimination,

while the United Nations Declaration on the Elimination of

Violence against Women, adopted in 1993, expressly recog-

nized that gender-based violence constitutes a manifestation

of historically unequal power relations between women and

men. Subsequently, the Protocol to the African Charter on

Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Af-

rica (Maputo Protocol) reinforced this approach within the

African human rights system by expanding States’ obliga-

tions to prevent, punish, and eradicate all forms of violence

against women.

From a contemporary doctrinal perspective, gender-based

violence cannot be conned exclusively to acts of physical

or sexual violence. It encompasses a broad range of conduct,

including psychological, economic, patrimonial, symbolic,

institutional, and, more recently, digital violence (d’Amato

et al., 2025), all of which are characterized by generating sit-

uations of domination, subordination, or exclusion that un-

dermine the eective enjoyment of women’s human rights.

This conceptual expansion reects the need to recognize

emerging forms of violence arising from social and techno-

logical transformations, while simultaneously strengthening

legal mechanisms capable of responding to increasingly

complex contexts.

Within the African context, and particularly in Angola,

the conceptual evolution of gender-based violence has like-

wise been shaped by historical, cultural, and socioeconomic

factors. Persistent inequalities, certain traditional practices,

economic dependency, and entrenched gender stereotypes

continue to inuence societal perceptions of violence and, in

many cases, restrict victims’ eective access to the protection

mechanisms established under the national legal framework.

Consequently, domestic violence should be understood as a

specic manifestation of a broader structural phenomenon

intrinsically linked to unequal power relations that extend

beyond the family sphere.

Recent scholarship consistently demonstrates that the ef-

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

fectiveness of public policies depends not solely upon the

existence of legal norms (Khosa-Nkatini & Muthivhi, 2026;

Bawuah et al., 2025; Bennett & de Lacey, 2017; Gupta et al.,

2013), but also upon the institutional capacity to ensure their

eective implementation through prevention mechanisms,

comprehensive support services, timely access to justice,

and adequate remedies for victims. From this perspective,

the conceptual evolution of gender-based violence requires

its recognition as a multidimensional phenomenon demand-

ing coordinated responses across the legal, social, health,

and educational systems, thereby moving beyond exclusive-

ly punitive approaches and promoting comprehensive poli-

cies aimed at achieving substantive equality and ensuring the

eective protection of women’s human rights.

The conceptual evolution described above is summarized

in Figure 1, which illustrates the transition from a traditional

understanding of domestic violence toward a comprehensive

human rights-based approach.

Figure 1. Conceptual Evolution of Gender-Based Violence.

Source: Prepared by the authors based on the evolution of

international legal doctrine and normative frameworks.

As illustrated in Figure 1, the conceptual evolution of

gender-based violence reects a gradual transition from ap-

proaches focused exclusively on the family sphere toward

a multidimensional understanding grounded in substantive

equality, comprehensive protection, and human rights. This

transformation has directly inuenced the development of

contemporary legal systems and the formulation of public

policies aimed at preventing and eradicating all forms of vi-

olence against women.

Domestic Violence as a Manifestation of Structural

Gender Inequality

Domestic violence is no longer understood as a private

conict conned to the family sphere but is now recognized

as a manifestation of the structural inequalities that have

historically shaped relations between women and men. This

paradigm shift represents one of the most signicant advanc-

es in International Human Rights Law, moving the analy-

sis beyond an exclusively criminal law perspective toward

a comprehensive approach that incorporates social, cultural,

economic, and institutional dimensions.

From this perspective, domestic violence constitutes a con-

crete expression of asymmetrical power relations that restrict

women’s autonomy and undermine the eective enjoyment

of their fundamental rights. Its persistence is attributable

not only to individual conduct but also to structural factors,

including gender stereotypes, economic dependency, social

tolerance of certain forms of violence, and the reproduction

of discriminatory cultural norms. These factors contribute

to the normalization of practices of control and domination,

thereby hindering the early identication of situations of risk

and reducing victims’ willingness and ability to report acts

of violence.

In Angola, domestic violence continues to represent one of

the principal challenges to the protection of women’s rights.

Despite the legislative progress achieved through the enact-

ment of specic legal provisions designed to prevent and

punish this phenomenon, numerous national and internation-

al reports indicate that signicant obstacles remain, includ-

ing limited eective access to justice, unequal geographical

coverage of specialized support services, insucient coordi-

nation among the competent institutions, and the persistence

of sociocultural barriers that contribute to the underreporting

of cases.

Accordingly, the State’s response to domestic violence

must extend beyond a purely punitive approach. The eec-

tive protection of women requires public policies focused

on prevention, comprehensive support services, legal as-

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

sistance, psychosocial support, and adequate remedies for

victims, together with institutional mechanisms capable of

ensuring coordinated action among the judiciary, health ser-

vices, social protection agencies, and the institutions respon-

sible for promoting gender equality.

The scientic literature consistently demonstrates that

countries which have succeeded in reducing levels of vio-

lence against women have done so not solely through leg-

islative reform but by implementing comprehensive strat-

egies combining education for gender equality (Bawuah et

al., 2025), institutional strengthening, timely access to jus-

tice, social protection measures, and sustained community

awareness programmes. Consequently, the eectiveness of

the Angolan legal system should be assessed not merely by

the existence of protective legislation but also by its capacity

to ensure an eective, coordinated, and human rights-based

institutional response centred on the needs and rights of vic-

tims.

In this regard, domestic violence should be understood

as a multidimensional public concern whose resolution re-

quires the coordinated involvement of the State, judicial

institutions, the education system, healthcare services, and

civil society. Only through a preventive and interdisciplin-

ary approach will it be possible to achieve comprehensive

protection capable of reducing structural inequalities and

strengthening women’s access to eective justice.

These considerations provide the foundation for the anal-

ysis developed in the following section, which examines the

legal framework currently in force in Angola and evaluates

the extent to which its normative provisions eectively ad-

dress the challenges identied.

Table 1 illustrates the evolution of the legal treatment of

domestic violence from a private and predominantly crimi-

nal law approach toward a human rights-based model. This

transformation demonstrates that the State’s response can no

longer be limited to the punishment of the perpetrator but

must also incorporate comprehensive measures for the pre-

vention of violence, the protection of victims, the provision

of support services, and the full reparation of harm suered.

The Legal Framework for the Protection of Women

against Gender-Based Violence in Angola

The legal protection of women against gender-based vi-

olence in Angola has undergone progressive development

over recent decades as a result of both domestic legislative

reforms and the incorporation of international and regional

human rights commitments. This process has contributed to

the consolidation of a normative framework aimed at pre-

venting, punishing, and eradicating violence against women.

Nevertheless, its practical implementation continues to face

signicant challenges associated with institutional eective-

ness and genuine access to justice.

The constitutional foundation of this protection is es-

tablished in the Constitution of the Republic of Angola

(República de Angola, 2010), which recognizes the inherent

dignity of the human person, the principle of equality, and

the prohibition of all forms of discrimination, while impos-

ing upon the State the obligation to guarantee respect for and

protection of the fundamental rights of all individuals. These

constitutional principles provide the legal basis for the devel-

opment of public policies and specic legislative measures

designed to protect women from all forms of violence.

In furtherance of these constitutional mandates, Angola

enacted the Law against Domestic Violence (Law No. 25/11

of 14 July) (Lei contra a Violência Doméstica (Lei n.º 25/11,

de 14 de julho)) (República de Angola, 2011), which is re-

garded as one of the country’s principal legal instruments

for the prevention and punishment of domestic violence.

This legislation broadened the traditional concept of family

violence by recognizing multiple forms of abuse, including

physical, psychological, sexual, economic, and patrimonial

violence. It also introduced protective measures aimed at

ensuring victims’ safety and promoting coordinated action

among the competent public institutions.

The Angolan legal system is also shaped by several in-

ternational human rights instruments ratied by the State.

Among the most signicant are the Convention on the Elim-

ination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CE-

DAW), the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and

Table 1. Evolution of the Legal Treatment of Domestic Violence

Stage

Predominant

Approach

Key Characteristics

Traditional Private Sphere Regarded as a family matter, with limited State intervention.

Transitional Criminal Protection

Introduction of specic criminal sanctions and protective measures for

victims.

Contemporary Human Rights

Recognized as a human rights violation requiring comprehensive and

interinstitutional responses.

Source: Prepared by the authors based on the specialized literature and the principal international human rights instruments.

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa (Maputo

Protocol), and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’

Rights. These instruments impose specic obligations upon

States to prevent gender-based violence, protect victims,

guarantee eective access to justice, and adopt legislative

and administrative measures to eliminate the structural caus-

es of discrimination.

Nevertheless, the existence of a relatively robust legal

framework does not, in itself, guarantee the eective protec-

tion of women’s rights. The specialized literature indicates

that the implementation of existing legislation continues to

be constrained by the limited territorial coverage of special-

ized services, inadequate institutional resources, barriers to

reporting, the persistence of gender stereotypes, and socio-

economic inequalities that disproportionately aect women

in situations of vulnerability. These circumstances highlight

the need to strengthen the implementation of the existing

legal framework through comprehensive public policies,

continuous training of legal professionals and justice-sector

personnel, and eective mechanisms for interinstitutional

coordination.

From a human rights perspective, the eectiveness of a

legal system should not be assessed solely by the number

of legislative instruments enacted, but rather by its capacity

to prevent violence, ensure the immediate protection of vic-

tims, conduct prompt and eective investigations, prosecute

and punish perpetrators, and provide full reparation for the

harm suered. Accordingly, the principal challenge currently

facing Angola is not merely the expansion of its legislative

framework but the consolidation of an institutional gover-

nance model capable of transforming legal guarantees into

eective mechanisms for the protection and enforcement of

women’s rights.

Table 2 demonstrates that the legal protection of women

in Angola is founded upon a multilevel legal framework

comprising constitutional provisions, national legislation,

and international and regional human rights instruments

(Sivakumaran, 2025). This normative architecture provides

a sucient legal basis for the prevention and punishment

of gender-based violence. Nevertheless, the eectiveness of

this framework depends upon its proper implementation, ef-

fective coordination among the institutions responsible for

its enforcement, and victims’ timely access to protection and

justice mechanisms, all of which continue to represent sig-

nicant challenges for the Angolan State.

Table 2. Principal Legal Instruments for the Protection of Women against Gender-Based Violence Applicable in Angola

Legal Instrument Scope Principal Contribution

Constitution of the Republic of Angola National

Recognizes equality, human dignity, and the

prohibition of discrimination.

Law No. 25/11 of 14 July (Law against Domestic

Violence) (Lei n.º 25/11, de 14 de julho – Lei

contra a Violência Doméstica)

National

Regulates the prevention of, protection against,

and punishment of domestic violence.

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

International

Requires States to eliminate all forms of

discrimination against women.

Protocol to the African Charter on Human and

Peoples' Rights on the Rights of Women in

Africa (Maputo Protocol)

African

regional

Strengthens the protection of women's rights in

Africa and requires States to adopt measures to

combat gender-based violence.

African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights

African

regional

Guarantees fundamental rights and equality

before the law.

Source: Prepared by the authors based on Angola’s national legislation and the principal international and regional human

rights instruments.

Institutional Challenges to the Eective Protection

of Women against Gender-Based Violence in Angola

The consolidation of a legal framework aimed at pre-

venting and punishing violence against women represents a

signicant advancement in the protection of human rights

in Angola. However, the eectiveness of these legal provi-

sions depends largely upon the institutional capacity to en-

sure their eective implementation. Comparative experience

demonstrates that the mere existence of legal norms is insuf-

cient to reduce levels of violence unless accompanied by

sustained public policies, adequate institutional resources,

and eective mechanisms for coordination among the com-

petent authorities (Yemo, 2025; Ojewale et al., 2024).

One of the principal challenges identied in the special-

ized literature concerns eective access to justice. A range of

factors—including the geographical distance to specialized

services, economic constraints, victims’ limited awareness

of their legal rights, and fear of retaliation—continue to im-

pede the reporting of incidents of violence. These challenges

are compounded by the persistence of sociocultural norms

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

that tend to normalize certain forms of domestic violence,

thereby contributing to the underreporting of cases and limit-

ing the timely intervention of the competent authorities (Ell-

sberg et al., 2021; Watson, 2023).

A further signicant challenge relates to interinstitution-

al coordination. The comprehensive protection of women

requires coordinated action among judicial authorities, law

enforcement agencies, healthcare providers, social assis-

tance services, educational institutions, and public bodies re-

sponsible for promoting gender equality. Where these actors

operate in a fragmented manner, victims encounter greater

obstacles in obtaining timely protective measures, special-

ized support services, and eective remedies (Dima & Abou-

bakar, 2025; Dogoli et al., 2023).

The training of legal professionals and justice-sector per-

sonnel likewise constitutes a determining factor in the ef-

fectiveness of the protection system. The implementation of

legislation addressing gender-based violence requires spe-

cialized expertise in human rights law, gender-sensitive ap-

proaches, and comprehensive victim-centred assistance. The

absence of continuous professional training may result in un-

duly restrictive interpretations of the applicable legislation,

secondary victimization during judicial proceedings, and in-

adequate institutional responses to high-risk situations.

From a preventive perspective, it is equally necessary to

strengthen public policies aimed at transforming the struc-

tural factors that perpetuate violence. Education for gender

equality, the promotion of relationships free from discrimi-

nation, the economic empowerment of women, and sustained

public awareness campaigns constitute essential instruments

for reducing the conditions that foster gender-based vio-

lence. In this regard, prevention should be conceived as a

cross-cutting public policy involving not only the State but

also civil society, educational institutions, the media, and lo-

cal communities.

The challenges identied demonstrate that the eective

protection of women in Angola requires moving beyond an

approach centred exclusively on criminal justice responses

toward a comprehensive model of institutional governance.

Such a model should integrate prevention, immediate protec-

tion, timely access to justice, comprehensive reparation, and

the continuous monitoring and evaluation of public policies.

Only through a coordinated, human rights-based strategy

will it be possible to ensure eective protection against all

forms of gender-based violence.

Figure 2 illustrates a comprehensive legal protection mod-

el that places prevention at the core of public policies aimed

at combating gender-based violence. The model demon-

strates that the State’s response should not be conned to the

operation of the criminal justice system but must also incor-

porate coordinated mechanisms involving the justice sector,

healthcare services, social protection, and legal assistance. It

further highlights the importance of comprehensive repara-

tion, institutional monitoring, and continuous evaluation as

indispensable components for ensuring the eective protec-

tion of women’s rights and strengthening the State’s capacity

to prevent future acts of violence.

Figure 2. Comprehensive Legal Protection Model against

Gender-Based Violence in Angola

Proposal for a Socio-Legal Model to Strengthen the Pro-

tection of Women against Gender-Based Violence in An-

gola

The analysis conducted in this study demonstrates that

gender-based violence in Angola constitutes a multidimen-

sional phenomenon whose persistence results from the inter-

action of legal, social, economic, cultural, and institutional

factors. Consequently, responses based exclusively on crim-

inal sanctions are insucient to ensure the eective protec-

tion of women’s rights. The evidence reviewed indicates that

prevention, protection, and reparation should be understood

as complementary components of a comprehensive public

policy grounded in human rights (Mazhambe & Mushunje,

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

2023).

From this perspective, a comprehensive socio-legal pro-

tection model is proposed, structured around ve strategic

dimensions: prevention, protection, access to justice, insti-

tutional coordination, and comprehensive reparation. These

dimensions should not be regarded as independent interven-

tions but rather as interrelated components that strengthen

the State’s capacity to respond eectively to the various

manifestations of gender-based violence (Sivakumaran,

2025; Jesrani & Garcia, 2025).

The rst dimension is prevention, understood as the set

of measures aimed at transforming the structural factors that

contribute to gender-based violence. This includes promot-

ing educational policies based on gender equality, sustained

public awareness campaigns, women’s economic empow-

erment programmes, and strategies designed to challenge

discriminatory sociocultural norms that perpetuate relation-

ships of domination and inequality.

The second dimension comprises the comprehensive pro-

tection of victims, which requires the provision of imme-

diate assistance mechanisms, timely protective measures,

specialized legal aid, psychological support, and access to

healthcare and social protection services. The eectiveness

of these measures depends upon the institutional capacity to

deliver prompt, coordinated, and victim-centred responses

tailored to the specic needs of each individual.

The third dimension concerns eective access to justice,

understood not merely as the formal possibility of ling a

complaint but as women’s right to obtain a timely, impar-

tial judicial response free from any form of discrimination.

Achieving this objective requires strengthening the special-

ized training of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, and

law enforcement ocials in human rights law and gen-

der-sensitive approaches.

The fourth dimension is institutional coordination, which

constitutes a cross-cutting component of the proposed mod-

el. Eective cooperation among judicial institutions, social

protection agencies, healthcare providers, educational insti-

tutions, and civil society organizations enables more ecient

use of available resources, prevents secondary victimization,

and improves the continuity and quality of services provided

to women aected by violence.

Finally, comprehensive reparation constitutes the fth di-

mension of the proposed framework. Beyond the imposition

of sanctions upon perpetrators, eective protection requires

mechanisms aimed at restoring victims’ rights, ensuring their

physical and psychological rehabilitation, providing com-

pensation where appropriate, and establishing guarantees of

non-repetition through sustainable public policies and per-

manent systems of institutional monitoring and evaluation.

Taken together, these ve dimensions constitute a so-

cio-legal model that integrates normative protection with the

operational capacity of the institutions responsible for its im-

plementation. Its adoption has the potential to strengthen the

system for the protection of women in Angola and to serve as

a reference framework for other African States facing similar

challenges in the prevention and eradication of gender-based

violence.

Figure 3 summarizes the socio-legal model proposed in

this study. The framework demonstrates that the eective

protection of women against gender-based violence depends

upon the interaction of ve strategic dimensions: prevention,

comprehensive protection, access to justice, institutional co-

ordination, and comprehensive reparation.

Figure 3. Comprehensive Socio-Legal Model for the Pro-

tection of Women against Gender-Based Violence in Angola

The integration of these components makes it possible to

move beyond exclusively punitive approaches and advance

toward a governance model grounded in human rights, sub-

stantive equality, and the coordinated action of public insti-

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

tutions and civil society (Jesrani & Garcia, 2025).

Conclusions

Legal subordination has neither weakened nor disappea-

reGender-based violence and domestic violence against wo-

men continue to represent one of the principal challenges to

the protection of human rights and the consolidation of the

rule of law in Angola. The analysis undertaken in this study

demonstrates that the conceptual evolution of these legal ca-

tegories has moved beyond traditional understandings cen-

tred exclusively on the family sphere. They are now recog-

nized as manifestations of structural inequalities that require

comprehensive responses from the legal, institutional, and

social systems.

The research further reveals that Angola has progressively

strengthened its legal framework through the Constitution

of the Republic, Law No. 25/11 of 14 July (República de

Angola, 2011), and the principal international and regional

instruments for the protection of women’s rights. Neverthe-

less, the eectiveness of these legal provisions continues to

be constrained by institutional, cultural, and socioeconomic

factors that limit timely access to justice, contribute to the

underreporting of cases, and hinder the coordinated imple-

mentation of the preventive, protective, and reparative mea-

sures established under the existing legal framework.

The study also demonstrates that the State’s response to

gender-based violence cannot be conned to strengthening

the punitive system alone. The eective protection of wo-

men requires comprehensive public policies incorporating

sustained prevention strategies, education for gender equa-

lity, specialized support services, institutional capacity-buil-

ding, intersectoral coordination, and eective mechanisms

for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of public

interventions.

The principal scientic contribution of this article lies in

the proposal of a comprehensive socio-legal model that in-

tegrates ve strategic dimensions—prevention, comprehen-

sive protection, access to justice, institutional coordination,

and comprehensive reparation—as interdependent compo-

nents for strengthening the State’s response to gender-based

violence. This model provides an analytical framework that

may serve as a reference for the design of public policies and

for future research on the legal protection of women in An-

gola and other African countries facing similar challenges.

Finally, further empirical research is needed to evalua-

te the practical implementation of the existing legal fra-

mework, the eectiveness of public policies, and the impact

of the protection measures adopted across the dierent terri-

torial contexts of Angola. The generation of robust scientic

evidence will contribute to strengthening evidence-based

decision-making, improving institutional coordination, and

consolidating a protection system founded upon the princi-

ples of equality, human dignity, and the eective protection

of women’s fundamental rights.

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Conicts of interest

The authors declare that she has no conicts of interest.

Author contributions

Yonayka Licea-Suárez: Conceptualization, methodology,

investigation, formal analysis, data curation, writing – ori-

ginal draft, visualization. Lisandra León-Brizuela: Metho-

J. Law Epistemic Stud. (2026) 4: e185

dology, validation, supervision, formal analysis, writing –

review & editing. Ariadna Moya-Rodríguez: Investigation,

data curation, formal analysis, validation, writing – review

& editing. Leonel Céspedes-Tamayo: Investigation, super-

vision, validation, visualization, writing – review & editing.

All authors have read and agreed to the published version of

the manuscript..

Data availability statement

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study

are available from the corresponding author on reasonable

request.

Statement on the use of AI

The authors acknowledge the use of generative AI and

AI-assisted technologies to improve the readability and cla-

rity of the article.

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