A/HRC/7/3 page 15 level of severity prohibited by article 3”44 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Court further stated that “the failure to provide adequate protection constitutes a violation of article 3 of the Convention”.45 47. But even if there are national laws against domestic violence in place, law enforcement agencies and the prosecution services may still not consider cases of domestic violence as serious violations and may be therefore reluctant to bring complaints, conduct investigations and prosecute perpetrators. In 2001 the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights considered the case of Maria da Penha, who had suffered physical and psychological violence at the hands of her husband since 1983. He twice tried to kill her and left her paralysed at the age of 38. Fifteen years later, the judicial investigation initiated by Maria da Penha had not been concluded. In this case, the Inter-American Commission held that the legislation was inadequate and that the State was responsible for not having acted with due diligence and added that “discriminatory judicial ineffectiveness creates a climate that is conducive to domestic violence, since society sees no evidence of willingness by the State, as the representative of the society, to take effective action to sanction such acts”.46 48. As can be seen from the above, international law has developed considerably over the years to become more gender-inclusive. In 1996, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women stated that: “the argument that domestic violence should be understood and treated as a form of torture and, when less severe, ill-treatment, is one that deserves consideration by the rapporteurs and treaty bodies that investigate these violations together perhaps with appropriate NGO experts and jurists”.47 In 2000, the Human Rights Committee indicated that domestic violence can give rise to violations of the right not to be subjected to torture or ill-treatment under article 7 of the ICCPR.48 In line with this statement the Committee has mentioned the need for States to adopt specific legislation combating domestic violence,49 including legislation criminalizing marital rape.50 More specifically, it has called upon States to ensure that their justice systems incorporate restraining orders to protect women from violent family members, 44 European Court of Human Rights, case No. 100/1997/884/1096, A. v. the United Kingdom, judgement 23 September 1998, para. 21. 45 Ibid., para. 24. 46 Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, case No. 12.051, Maria da Penha v. Brazil, 16 April 2001. 47 E/CN.4/1996/53, para. 50. 48 Human Rights Committee general comment No. 28 (2000) on article 3 (The equality of rights between men and women), para. 11. 49 See CCPR/CO/75/YEM, para. 6; CCPR/CO/79/LKA, para. 20; and CCPR/CO/80/DEU, para. 14. 50 See CCPR/CO/79/LKA, para. 20.