Constitutional Governance and State Responsibility in Protecting Women and Children: Toward a Rights-Based Legal Framework

Abstract

The protection of women and children constitutes a fundamental indicator of a democratic state governed by the rule of law and committed to the promotion of human rights. Although constitutional guarantees, statutory regulations, and international human rights instruments provide a comprehensive normative framework, the effective protection of women and children continues to face significant challenges, including gender-based violence, exploitation, discrimination, and institutional fragmentation in fulfilling constitutional rights. These challenges demonstrate the need to strengthen constitutional governance by recognizing state responsibility as a legal obligation to respect, protect, and fulfill the rights of women and children. This paper aims to examine the relationship between constitutional governance and state responsibility in ensuring legal protection for women and children, while proposing a more effective and rights-based legal framework. The study employs a normative legal research method using statutory, conceptual, and comparative approaches to analyze national legislation alongside relevant international legal instruments. Data are collected through library research, including the examination of legislation, judicial decisions, legal doctrines, and international human rights instruments. The findings indicate that the protection of women and children cannot rely solely on the existence of legal regulations but requires constitutional governance that ensures state accountability, policy harmonization, institutional strengthening, effective access to justice, and the integration of human rights principles into legislative and policy-making processes. Accordingly, developing a rights-based legal framework represents a strategic approach to strengthening constitutional protection for women and children while promoting inclusive, accountable, and sustainable governance.