A/HRC/7/3 page 23 64. In addition, the ICC established a Victims and Witnesses Unit within the Registry, which applies protective measures and security arrangements, including counselling and other appropriate assistance.87 During trial, victims and witnesses to crimes involving sexual violence can be protected from physical violence or further stigmatization. 2. Rehabilitation and reparation for women-survivors of torture 65. In the past the needs of female victims of torture, in particular victims of sexual violence have often drawn little attention. The case of the survivors of Japan’s military sexual slavery practices during the Second World War is a clear lesson of what happens when the needs of victims are completely ignored. As the Committee against Torture has stated: “The survivors of the wartime abuses, acknowledged by the State party representative as having suffered ‘incurable wounds’, experience continuing abuse and re-traumatization as a result of the State party’s official denial of the facts, concealment or failure to disclose other facts, failure to prosecute those criminally responsible for acts of torture, and failure to provide adequate rehabilitation to the victims and survivors.”88 66. As can be seen from this example, stigma is a central obstacle hindering justice for victims. It is the stigma that comes with sexual violence that means that sometimes victims, especially minors, do not use the word “rape” to describe what happened to them (they might rather use words like “make love”, which does not necessarily imply that violence was used; it is therefore critical to make an assessment of the circumstances). In this regard, it is interesting to underline the power of naming an act as torture at the individual level: victims of sexual violence in Guatemala have reported feeling more protected from social stigmatization when the crime is defined as torture rather than rape, forced impregnation or sexual slavery. Women who became mothers as a result of rape, as well as their children and partners, need special psychological support. 67. The Nairobi process89 and the ensuing “Nairobi Declaration on Women’s and Girls’ Right to a Remedy and Reparation”90 give an overview of the issues that have arisen in connection with gender-blind reparation following armed conflict in the past and enumerate guiding principles for future reparation policies. The Special Rapporteur would like to stress that “truth-telling” is a crucial element of reparation and that criminal justice is at the core of any reparation process and must never be restricted.91 Bringing perpetrators to justice is at 87 See article 43, paragraph 6, of the Rome Statute. 88 CAT/C/JPN/CO/1, para. 24. 89 Background paper on women’s right to reparation, International Meeting on Women’s and Girls’ Right to a Remedy and Reparation, Nairobi, March 2007. 90 91 Available at http://www.womensrightscoalition.org/site/reparation/signature_en.php. See also General Principles 3, para. C and 1, para. F of the Nairobi Declaration on Women’s and Girl’s Right to a Remedy and Reparation.