Abstract

This "fear of being abandoned" challenges the working of human rights laws and institutions. Vulnerable groups, as highlighted in several studies, continue to accept situations of violence owing to the fear of being abandoned. The fear directly obstructs the full and meaningful impact that laws dealing with elder abuse, domestic violence, forced marriage, etc. can have. The fear of being abandoned, in many ways, stands as one of the greatest costs borne by human rights. As claimed, abandonment will also continue to challenge the human rights-based systems in the times to come. This theme makes a compelling case to consider the extent to which human rights laws are shaped by experiences of abandonment and the extent to which the fear of being abandoned prevents individuals from exploring human rights protections. To what extent can studies in psychology determine the appropriateness of legal responses to abandonment? The answer certainly requires more theoretical and empirical investigations and both the fields of psychology and human rights can contribute in this direction.