A/HRC/16/44 included beatings by law enforcement officials, the use of torture as a disciplinary measure, denial of adequate medical care in detention, forced medication and sleep deprivation. Among the alleged victims of such treatment were pro-democracy activists, defenders working on reproductive and housing rights, and the rights of religious, national, and ethnic minorities. 82. In Uzbekistan, to which 11 communications regarding alleged torture or other mistreatment were sent, there emerged a worrying trend of the alleged committal of women defenders to psychiatric institutions, wherein they may be subjected to forced medication, as a form of punishment for their work, along with other forms of mistreatment such as assaults and beatings – which in one instance allegedly induced a miscarriage in the pregnant wife of a human rights defender – or sleep deprivation. The method of confining women defenders to psychiatric facilities has also allegedly been employed in countries such as the Russian Federation and Viet Nam. 83. A large number of communications related to allegations of excessive use of force and other forms of mistreatment by police during arrests and detentions. In this regard, aside from the aforementioned countries, many of the reported violations occurred in the Islamic Republic of Iran, primarily against women’s rights activists, in Chile; India, and Myanmar among others. As noted above, such violence was even employed against pregnant defenders. In the given period, three incidents were reported to the Special Rapporteur in which alleged physical violence by law enforcement officials against pregnant women led to miscarriages. Many other violations reportedly occurred during and following police crackdowns on peaceful demonstrations and protests. In this connection, a significant number of communications related to Zimbabwe but also to Belarus, Chile, Myanmar, and Nepal, among others. 84. During the stated period, in the Middle East and North Africa region, primarily in Tunisia, but also in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt and Morocco, the communications sent seem to point to a trend of the use of physical violence against women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender issues by law enforcement officials. Such acts, however, did not usually take place in the context of an arrest or detention; rather, there appears to be a pattern of sporadic beatings as a form of punishment or intimidation, or occasionally to prevent meetings or assemblies from taking place. (c) Stigmatization 85. Aside from the “political” stigmatization to which both women defenders and their male counterparts are subjected in certain contexts, including accusations of being fronts for guerrilla movements, terrorists, political extremists, separatists, foreign countries or interests, women human rights defenders often face further stigmatization by virtue of their sex or the gender- or sexuality-based rights they advocate. As noted above, such work can be perceived as challenging established socio-cultural norms, tradition or perceptions about the role and status of women in society. As a result of this, women defenders often find themselves and their work subjected to stigmatization by both State and non-State actors. A common accusation directed in particular at those working on women’s rights, gender issues, and LGBT rights, is the assertion that these defenders are somehow advocating or attempting to import “foreign” or “Western” values which contradict national or regional culture. State agents or representatives are often alleged to be responsible for such stigmatization. (d) Sexual violence and rape 86. As both mandate holders have reiterated on various occasions, female human rights defenders are subject to particular risks to which their male counterparts are not so greatly exposed, foremost among these being the risk of rape, sexual abuse, and other forms of 16