Who holds responsibility for the wrongs of a society?

The U.S. has just begun granting asylum to domestic abuse victims, expanding the definition of persecution by a society. The argument in this particular instance is that domestic abuse is widely, almost unanimously accepted in Guatemala and is thus a form of quasi-political persecution. From what little I know of this situation, I welcome it as a small measure to help victims of the abuses of power made on the basis of physical strength and the enabling of such abuses by unbalanced financial control within the family. On an academic level, this new policy brings up an interesting conflict to me. Should we hold individual societies responsible for "their" own problems? Does protecting individuals from what we perceive as wrongs a form of undermining the authority of the relevant governments or societies? How do we draw boundaries of societies? There is a philosophy that states we have spheres of influence or spheres of responsibility; we must thus worry the most about those closest to us, but then the question is, in situations without serious damage to our own selves, are we obliged to act primarily as a world community?