This book examines one of the key issues shaping global considerations of human rights today: the idea of the family as a protected category. Bringing together historians, political scientists, legal scholars, and historical sociologists, the book investigates how ideas about the family and sexuality intersected with thinking about human rights, for example, through new international law and international institutions; social movements targeting issues related to religion, gender, and sexuality; historical developments such as war and the collapse of empires; and, developments in the social sciences. It features case studies on regions around the globe, as well as on relevant international organisations and individuals who have been influential in this area. In doing so,  the contributors to this collection interrogate the relationship between human rights related to the family, and broader debates about rights related to gender and sexuality.