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International human rights law has been challenged because of its alleged inability to safeguard the rights of the most vulnerable victims of violence. Whereas in real life they are often marginalized and effectively left without adequate protection, this is not to be attributed to the absence of an appropriate normative framework but rather to the contempt, lack of enforcement and systemic neglect of their claims. This paper proposes to find a ‘cure’ inside international human rights law, by strengthening the mechanisms that permit a horizontal application of human rights standards in private relations. The paper is divided in four sections. The first section describes the problematic at hand, focusing in particular on violence against women and children. The three subsequent sections then analyze the avenues open to victims in order to claim a ‘third-party’ application of human rights treaties against non-state actors who have violated their fundamental rights.