Accountability mechanisms can provide a way of institutionalising responsibility for addressing women’s human rights violations, and point to ways forward in terms of process. Accountability has played an important role in the development of human rights law over the past decade. This article presents an overview of what we mean by accountability and argues that it is embedded in shifting legal standards and social values. It provides an outline of the key elements to explore accountability in particular contexts. This includes its functions – punishment, deterrence, prevention, promoting compliance and redress; its core features – norms and standards, responsibility for oversight, transparency, inquiry, corrective responses and follow-up; and its mechanisms – national government institutions, criminal prosecution, traditional dispute resolution, international law and civil society advocacy.