The human rights movement originally grew from efforts to release political prisoners and protect citizens from totalitarian state power. As such, it had traditionally concerned itself almost exclusively with civil and political rights, such as freedom of expression and torture - areas explicitly concerning a state's relationship with its citizens. Abuses suffered by women are typically very different - they often occur in the home or other private places, carried out by individuals acting of their own accord. Domestic violence, forced prostitution and exploitative domestic work are classic examples. The state does not play a direct role in the abuse, so although such acts may be criminal, at the time of the Women's Rights Division's inception they were not considered to violate human rights and were not an issue for human rights activists. But the division's investigations and legal scholarship successfully argued that by systematically tolerating abusive practices and failing to help victims, states were implicitly sanctioning the violations, and could be held responsible under international human rights law.
