A/HRC/7/3
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of particular concern to women.92 The network of partners should include women’s rights
groups and relevant academic and research institutions. Further, social care centres and
psychiatric institutions should be included in the visits. He also recommended that
monitoring/fact-finding teams be composed in a gender-inclusive manner (including female
doctors) and that all its members be trained to deal with sexual violence and other sensitive
gender-specific issues. Fact-finders and monitors need to be able to ask the right questions
using gender-sensitive language and to assess the psychological trauma that comes with
violence, in particular sexual violence. Also, to the extent possible, fact-finding should pay
attention to the private sphere: whereas it would not be feasible to visit private homes to
assess whether domestic violence occurs, an effort can be made at accessing sources that
would know about domestic violence, trafficking, female genital mutilation and other forms
of “private” torture and ill-treatment of women. In such a scenario, fact-finding should
include interviews with victims at shelters to assess the prevention and protection gaps, and
medical institutions should be consulted.
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For instance, discrimination in law; legal grounds which create impunity for violence against
women; the existence of domestic violence legislation; anti-trafficking legislation; legislation
against traditional harmful practices; criminalization of rape/spousal rape; legal norms relating to
abortion, prostitution, etc.; and the quality of these laws.
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