A/HRC/7/3 page 10 36. The case law presented here has, without exception, emphasized the severe pain and suffering endured by victims of rape. However, the Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight some of the unique dimensions of this form of torture. When Government officials use rape, the suffering inflicted might go beyond the suffering caused by classic torture, partly because of the intended and often resulting isolation of the survivor. In some cultures a rape victim may be rejected or formally banished from her community or family. This rejection greatly hinders the psychological recovery of the victim and often condemns her to destitution and extreme poverty. Even when rape survivors are not rejected they still face important difficulties in establishing intimate relationships.20 Furthermore, raped women are often infected with sexually transmitted diseases or may experience unwanted pregnancies, miscarriages, forced abortions or denial of abortion.21 Because of the stigma attached to sexual violence, official torturers deliberately use rape to humiliate and punish victims but also to destroy entire families and communities. This is particularly clear when State officials force family members to rape their female relatives or to witness their rape. The Akayesu decision, in which the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) recognized rape as a form of genocide in the same way as any other act committed with specific intent to destroy a particular group, is a striking acknowledgment of the destructive potential of rape. The ICTR made it explicit that these rapes resulted in the physical and psychological destruction of Tutsi women, their families and their communities.22 (b) Violence against pregnant women and denial of reproductive rights23 37. In its general comment No. 28 (2000) on article 3 (The equality of rights between men and women), the Human Rights Committee explicitly indicated that breaches of article 7 include forced abortion as well as denial of access to safe abortion to women who have become pregnant as a result of rape. The Committee against Torture has also identified reproductive decisions as a context in which women are particularly vulnerable24 and expressed concern regarding domestic legislation that severely restricts access to voluntary abortion in cases of rape.25 They have also condemned the practice of attempting to obtain confessions as a condition of 20 See for example, Evelyn Mary Aswad, “Torture by means of rape”, Georgetown Law Journal, vol. 84, No. 5 (May 1996), p. 1913. Available at: http://spr.org/pdf/Torture%20by% 20Means%20of%20Rape.pdf. 21 See also A/54/426, A/55/290, A/59/324, E/CN.4/1995/34 and E/CN.4/1998/54. 22 Prosecutor v. Akayesu, ICTR-96-4, 13 February 1996, amended 17 June 1997. 23 The Special Rapporteur has sent nine communications in the last four years, linked to miscarriages as a result of torture or ill-treatment in detention. See for example A/HRC/4/33/Add.1, para. 11. He has also received information regarding female detainees forced to undergo abortions, so that they could be sent to labour camps. See for example E/CN.4/2005/62/Add.1, para. 286. 24 CAT general comment No. 2 (2007) on implementation of article 2 by States parties, para. 22. 25 See for example, concluding observations on Peru, CAT/C/PER/CO/4, para. 23.