A/HRC/31/57 every region in the world, are strongly linked to violence against women and inflict longterm physical and psychological harm on victims. They can legitimize sexual abuse and exploitation; trap women in situations characterized by domestic violence and servitude, marital rape and life-threatening early pregnancies; and affect the victim’s capacity to realize the full range of her human rights. (CEDAW/C/MNE/CO/1, CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, A/HRC/26/38/Add.3). Child marriage constitutes torture or ill-treatment (CAT/C/ETH/CO/1), particularly where Governments fail to establish a minimum age for marriage that complies with international standards or allow child marriage despite the existence of laws setting the age of majority at 18 (CAT/C/YEM/CO/2/Rev.1, CCPR/C/BGR/CO/3), to criminalize forced marriage and to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators. 64. Child and other forms of forced marriage increase during conflict and among displaced populations living in refugee or internally displaced persons camps. In 2015 the practice has been documented as being enforced by both State actors and non-State or rebel factions in Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, the Syrian Arab Republic and elsewhere, with victims being repeatedly raped, compelled to carry multiple pregnancies and subjected to other forms of physical and psychological violence over prolonged periods. While rape commonly occurs in the context of forced marriage, girls and women can also be forced into marriage as a consequence of rape or fear of sexual violence, as a form of “restitution” or “reparation”. Like rape, forced marriage is used as a tactic of war and to fulfil strategic objectives such as domination, intimidation and degradation. It has been recognized as a crime against humanity by the Special Court for Sierra Leone. 40 H. Access to justice and reparations 65. Victims of gender-based violence face significant hurdles in accessing justice and reparations, including absence of or shortcomings in domestic legal frameworks to hold perpetrators accountable, and practical obstacles such as the significant expense involved in accessing courts. Stigma can be a factor associated with gender-based crimes, and victims may fear rejection by families and communities and encounter personnel who are not properly trained to respond to their needs. All victims must be granted access to effective judicial and administrative remedies. This entails the dismantling of discriminatory barriers and the provision of support to victims at all stages of the legal process. 66. Reparations must be premised on a full understanding of the gendered nature and consequences of the harm suffered and take existing gender inequalities into account to ensure that they are not themselves discriminatory (see A/HRC/14/22, para. 32). They must address the context of structural discrimination in which violations occurred and aim to provide both restitution and rectification. 41 Reparations must have a transformative impact, addressing the underlying causes and consequences of violations, and offer continued protection for and respectful engagement with victims (A/HRC/14/22). As stipulated in the Nairobi Declaration on Women’s and Girls’ Right to a Remedy and Reparation, victims must be empowered to help determine what forms of reparation are best suited to their situation. 67. Adequate redress requires States to investigate, prosecute and punish perpetrators and inform the public of results. States must ensure that judicial procedures and rules of evidence are gender responsive; that equal weight is afforded to the testimony of women, 40 41 18 Case No. SCSL-2004-16-A, Prosecutor v. Brima et al., judgement of 22 February 2008. Inter-American Court of Human Rights, Case of González et al. (“Cotton Field”) v. Mexico, judgement of 16 November 2009.