Jessica Lenahan (Gonzales) v. United States, Case 12.626, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Report No. 80/11 (2011)

The petition asserts that the United States violated the American Declaration by failing to exercise due diligence to protect Lenahan and her three minor daughters from acts of domestic violence by her former husband. Lenahan was previously able to secure a restraining order against her husband due to such violence. However, in violation of the restraining order, the husband took their three daughters. Lenahan then repeatedly and urgently called on the police over several hours reporting that her husband took their daughters in violation of the restraining orders and asking for help. The police repeatedly refused to act, claiming that there was nothing they could do because the daughters were with their father. Subsequently, the daughters were found shot to death at the back of the husband's truck. The deaths of the daughters were never investigated by the State.

The Commission found in favor of the petitioner, citing the American Declaration which provides that all persons are equal before the law and have rights and duties established in the Declaration without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed or any other factor. The principle of non-discrimination is the backbone of the universal and regional systems for the protection of human rights. The Commission specifically characterized gender-based violence as one of the most extreme and pervasive forms of discrimination, severely impairing and nullifying the enforcement of women's rights.