A/HRC/20/16 8. The Special Rapporteur argued that States‘ efforts to comply with their due diligence obligation must address the structural causes that lead to violence against women. In doing so, States should consider the multiple forms of violence suffered by women and the different types of discrimination they encounter, in order to adopt multifaceted strategies to effectively prevent and combat this violence. She concluded the report by presenting a proposal for a holistic approach to understanding and addressing discrimination and violence against women. 9. On 29 February 2012, the Special Rapporteur submitted a written statement to the Commission on the Status of Women, in which she highlighted the need to ensure the social, cultural, and economic participation and empowerment of rural women. D. Other activities 10. The Special Rapporteur participated in consultations, held in Brussels in June 2011, with European civil society organizations, including representatives of European observatories on violence against women. 11. On 12 October 2011, the Special Rapporteur convened an expert group meeting in New York to inform her thematic report on gender-related killings of women. The meeting brought together 25 experts from academia, civil society organizations and United Nations agencies and bodies with technical and practical expertise on and experience in working on violence against women. 12. On 18 July, 2011, the Special Rapporteur participated in a general discussion on the protection of women‘s human rights in conflict and post-conflict which was organized in New York by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The Special Rapporteur also held a bilateral meeting with the Committee with a view to strengthening partnerships between the two mandates. 13. The Special Rapporteur also participated as main speaker in numerous international conferences including, among others, the South Asian conference entitled ―Reclaiming Space—from Victimhood to Agency: State and Civil Society Responses to Violence against Women‖, held in Pakistan in September 2011; the Women Building Peace conference, held in Barcelona in October 2011; and the Strengthening Girls‘ Rights Worldwide conference, held in Berlin in October 2011. III. Gender-related killings of women 14. In this report, the Special Rapporteur addresses the topic of gender-related killings of women whether they occur in the family or the community or are perpetrated or condoned by the State. Globally, the prevalence of different manifestations of such killings is increasing, and a lack of accountability for such crimes is the norm. Terms such as femicide, feminicide, honour killings and crimes of passion, among others, have been used to define such killings. 15. Rather than a new form of violence, gender-related killings are the extreme manifestation of existing forms of violence against women. Such killings are not isolated incidents that arise suddenly and unexpectedly, but are rather the ultimate act of violence which is experienced in a continuum of violence. Women subjected to continuous violence and living under conditions of gender-based discrimination and threat are always on ―death 4