A/HRC/27/21 commission’s design and mandate are informed by national consultations, including with women’s organizations, and to conduct a conflict-mapping exercise that documents the range of violations experienced by women. 22. Many recent commissions have built on the precedent established by Peru, setting up specialized gender units. Other truth commissions, such as the National Reconciliation Commission of Ghana, have incorporated gender concerns throughout its structure, rather than establish a specific unit. Gender units can play a valuable role as a focal point for efforts to address gender-based and sexual violence, but should not be a substitute for incorporating gender concerns across a commission’s work. Some experts recommend both establishing a gender unit and taking a cross-cutting approach, as was done by the commission in Timor-Leste. 23. Partnerships with women’s groups can strengthen a truth commission’s legitimacy, as well as its capacity to address gender-based and sexual violence. Past commissions have benefited from the involvement of women’s groups, which have made formal submissions, undertaken outreach, provided support to victims who provide testimony, drawn attention to overlooked issues, assisted with statement taking and gender training, and provided analysis on patterns of abuse. In Tunisia, women’s organizations are working to document stories and provide preliminary lists and databases of women victims, to be used in the initial mapping undertaken by the Truth and Dignity Commission. In Timor-Leste, partnerships with women’s civil society groups significantly strengthened the commission’s work.24 It is also important for a commission to reach out to organizations that work closely with child victims, including victims of sexual violence. 24. A commission’s composition should reflect its priorities in the area of gender-based and sexual violence. Experience shows that appointing commissioners and staff who understand and are committed to addressing the gendered dimensions of conflict is vital to maintaining a proactive focus on gender-based and sexual violence. Some commissions have used quotas to ensure the representation of women as commissioners, at expert levels and as staff. Commissioners and staff who bring understanding and experience in dealing with this type of violence may also be better placed to create a supportive and enabling environment that allows victims to speak about their experiences. Female victims of sexual abuse may also prefer to speak with female statement takers, and male victims of such abuses may prefer to speak with men. This should be taken into account in staffing the teams of statement takers and in setting up hearings. 25. Internal training is also important. Many past truth commissions, including those in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste, incorporated gender training for their staff. Training has covered, among other areas, international norms pertaining to gender-based and sexual violence; the history of gendered patterns of abuse in situations of conflict and repression; gender-sensitive approaches to statement taking, data collection and hearings, including support for and protection of women participants; conducting investigations that are responsive to the complex causes and manifestations of gender-based and sexual violence; and mainstreaming gender in report writing.25 The United Nations has often assisted with expertise during such training. 26. Investigators and statement takers may need training in interacting sensitively with victims experiencing psychological stress. The experience of many truth commissions has 24 25 8 commission. Nesiah and others, Truth Commissions, pp. 14–15. Binaifer Nowrojee, “Making the invisible visible: post-conflict justice for Sierra Leone’s rape victims”, Harvard Human Rights Journal, vol. 18 (2005), p. 93; Nesiah and others, Truth Commissions, p. 12.