It aims to discuss gender violence as a violation of women's human rights. Considering the scarcity of studies that address the theme from an international perspective, it is proposed to draw an overview of the normative instruments to confront violence against women at the international level and their impacts on the adoption of public policies by Brazil. It reflects on the contradictions in the process of implementing the normative provisions and the challenges to be overcome in order to guarantee the integrity of the woman, not only physical. It specifically addresses sexual violence, which, despite being considered a global health problem by the World Health Organization (WHO), still has high rates of occurrence and comes up against the fragility of justice systems. It lists subjects of different public policies that contributed to the promulgation of the regulatory frameworks to be discussed, with emphasis on women's movements and international organizations.