A/HRC/21/25 6. Girls and the risks of violence 45. Girls are a minority in the juvenile justice system, but, in line with international standards and norms,26 they require special protection because of their particular vulnerability. Due to their low numbers in the system, many countries do not make special arrangements or create special facilities for girls; and thus they are often held together with adult women. Alternatively, they are at high risk of being held in isolation or far away from home, due to the need to keep them separate from males. 46. In 2008, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment reported that custodial violence against women, including girls, “very often includes rape and other forms of sexual violence such as threats of rape, touching, „virginity testing‟, being stripped naked, invasive body searches, insults and humiliations of a sexual nature.” The Special Rapporteur recalled that it is widely recognized that rape constitutes torture when it is carried out by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of public officials. 27 47. Other reports have documented abuses against girls in a number of countries, recognizing that girls are vulnerable to violence, particularly rape and sexual abuse by police as well as staff in detention facilities. 28 48. In this regard it is important to take into account the Model Strategies and Practical Measures on the Elimination of Violence against Women in the Field of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, which address the specific vulnerabilities and needs of women and girls throughout the process. They are aimed at providing de jure and de facto equality between women and men (girls and boys) and at ensuring that any inequalities or forms of discrimination that women and girls face in achieving access to justice, particularly in respect of acts of violence, are redressed. 49. The Model Strategies and Practical Measures urge States to periodically review, evaluate and revise their laws, codes and procedures, especially their criminal laws, to ensure their value and effectiveness in eliminating violence against women and girls and remove provisions that allow for or condone violence against women and girls. 29 V. Systemic factors that contribute to violence against children A. Low priority and lack of a strong child protection system 50. Despite the growing attention being paid to juvenile justice internationally, the issue does not appear to figure as a priority concern on national policy agendas. Few governments have set about deinstitutionalizing as many children as possible in keeping with their human rights obligations.30 This has been attributed to the low level of importance accorded by many societies to children involved with the criminal justice system. 26 27 28 29 30 Rule 26.4, United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Administration of Juvenile Justice; Rules 36-39, United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders. A/HRC/7/3. http://hrw.org/english/docs/2007/02/20/g;obal15345.htm. General Assembly resolution 52/86. United Nations Secretary-General, World Report on Violence against Children (2006). 11