A/HRC/17/22 that it was important to see beyond the abuse and ask the survivor what she or he wished for or dreamt of. However, Ms. Buel insisted that the interventions must be sustainable and available in the long term. Finally, Ms. Buel said that interventions should have a threepronged approach to problem-solving by identifying the problem, identifying who has the power or authority to remedy the problem, and how to remedy the problem. She concluded by highlighting the importance of the notion of respect for the survivors. 57. Ms. MacMillan stated the need to combine different approaches to reach a holistic human rights-based approach to victims’ protection, including protecting survivors, contributing to the survivors’ resilience and enabling them to access justice. Ms. MacMillan pointed out survivors’ desire for rehabilitation, but also overall justice. She said it was important to learn from and work with the survivors to define the kind of redress they are seeking and use the power of their testimonies to inform and convince decision-makers. She added that there were a number of strategies and interventions to rehabilitate a torture survivor, the community and the society, but that it was a complex and non-linear process. Traumas were not easily conducive to official reporting and producing evidence needed for the litigation of cases. 58. Ms. MacMillan explained that the rationale behind a long-term holistic approach driven by the survivor is that torture has devastating impacts, shattering one’s identity, with consequences for the community and society over generations. She also stressed that survivors often did not have the same aspirations as human rights activists, and that redress through litigation had limits. Ms. MacMillan recommended developing a human rightsbased awareness of the signs of trauma, especially in asylum contexts; using data from survivors to inform the bilateral and multilateral prevention agenda; and using the mechanisms available at the United Nations and regional level. 59. In the discussion that followed, the representative of Hungary mentioned the excellent results obtained in Hungary through the national strategy for promotion of gender equality and the strategy for crime prevention. The representative of the European Union insisted that particular attention should be paid to violence against women belonging to vulnerable groups and noted that national borders were an obstacle to the continuity of measures of protection. It was also noted that there were many forms of torture with different direct and indirect consequences that had larger repercussions, for instance on children. The representative of Australia noted that there were remote areas where protection systems could not be built. It was also stressed that litigation put the burden on the victims. The need for support programmes for human rights defenders was mentioned. Finally, the need to empower victims in the criminal justice system was highlighted. 60. Ms. MacMillan explained that in the context of asylum in the EU, it was difficult not to have the survivors sent back, but that they had recently been trying to argue for people not to be returned to places where they cannot get access to the necessary rehabilitation services, not only to places where there is a risk of torture. She also underscored the importance of being honest with the victims, especially regarding litigation proceedings, and not making any promises, so as to allow for an informed decision. Ms. Buel insisted on the importance of involving men in combating violence against women. IV. Conclusions of the expert workshop 61. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, closed the two-day expert workshop by expressing her appreciation to all experts and participants for the efforts to shed light on challenges, good practices and opportunities in combating all forms of violence against women. She said the ideas, experiences, perspectives and contributions shared by all were instrumental in 14