The United States, which often presents itself as a political model for newer democracies in the Americas, cannot make the same claims when it comes to preventing gender based violence, according to UAH political science professor, Dr. Anne Marie Choup."The United States is actually behind in terms of legislation on Gender-Based Violence, and participation in international agreements on the subject," Choup noted. "For instance, we have not signed onto the 1994 Inter-American Convention on the Prevention, Punishment, and Eradication of Violence Against Women - all other countries in the Western Hemisphere have signed on, except for Canada and Cuba. This is a shame, because our rule of law - our strong judicial system and security services - could implement a lot of the measures that the Convention calls for really well. But the political will is lacking. In this comparative context, we as individuals have much to learn from other countries," she explained.