xvi GENDER PERSPECTIVES ON TORTURE: Law and Practice victims and those at risk of violence—populations that are often vulnerable, marginalized, and limited in access to resources. Therefore, when States fail to prosecute perpetrators of violence, they neglect victims, perpetuate impunity, and become complicit in the cycle of violence. Femicide or gender-based killings of women include honor killings, and killings related to crimes of passion that flagrantly disregard women’s rights to life and physical and mental integrity. These killings arise from continuously experienced violence, occur mostly within the family, especially from intimate partner, and constitute the most extreme forms of violence against women. Around the world, the majority of female homicide victims are killed by intimate male partners or family members. With global femicide rates increasing, impunity for femicides, regrettably, remains the norm including because the perpetrator may also kill himself. (A/HRC/20/16). Femicide preven­ tion therefore requires global, regional, and national mechanisms, such as the establishment of a “Femicide Watch” in every country. Implementation of national “Femicide Watches” requires States to develop and adopt methods of collecting data, establishing indicators, training police and other personnel, and referring cases for prosecution in situations related to violence against women. “Femicide Watch” methods are both responsive and preventative mechanisms that help to identify gaps in the intervention, criminal justice, and criminal procedure systems in order to more effectively combat femicide and violence against women. Last year, I presented a full report on modalities to establish gender-related killing or femicide watch, which provides suitable and concrete recommendations to States (A/71/398). Shelters are an integral resource in a vulnerable or victimized woman’s support network. Shelters are temporary emergency safe accommodations for women and children who have experienced or are at risk of being victims of domestic violence. Shelters not only support women who have experienced domestic violence, but also provide support for women and girls who are migrants, victims of trafficking, or asylum seekers fleeing violence. Both States and civil society organizations provide and operate shelters; however, austerity policies and budget cuts have inhibited access to shelters causing many of them to be shut down. Owing to the vital role shelters play, States should therefore establish and maintain shelters as part of their human rights obligations, not simply as charitable measures. These shelters should be safe, confidential, and allow women and children to stay for extended periods of time, affording them the opportunity to access legal, psychological, and medical help and participate in empowerment programs. Protection orders also serve as a valuable resource for women at risk of violence. Protection orders are judicial instruments meant to ensure the safety of a victim of any form of gender-based violence, including by requiring the perpetrator to leave the shared residence or to stay away from the victim. Protection orders and shelters are part of States’ human rights obligations, as I devel­ oped in my latest report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/35/30), and are complementary protection measures, as often when a woman takes out a protection order she is at an increased risk for violence and may need to seek refuge. While these measures should work in tandem, insuffi­ cient coordination between social services and the justice system jeopardizes the protective nature of these instruments. Moreover, protection orders often focus more on the treatment of perpetra­ tors than on the protection of victims, which should be the central concern. Women who are active in political and public spheres are often the targets of violence. As they exercise their citizenship, these women confront verbal abuse, threats, sexual harassment, rape, and in extreme cases are murdered for their commitment to political and public life. Violence against