6 GENDER PERSPECTIVES ON TORTURE: Law and Practice Along with the international treaties that have defined due diligence, regional courts have pro­ vided guidance for States to meet due diligence obligations.15 In a landmark decision of the InterAmerican Court of Human Rights, Velásquez Rodríguez v. Honduras,16 the Court concluded that: An illegal act which violates human rights and which is initially not directly imputable to a State (for example, because it is the act of a private person or because the person responsible has not been identified) can lead to international responsibility of the State, not because of the act itself, but because of the lack of due diligence to prevent the violation or to respond to it as required by the Convention.17 In 2001, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights applied this principle to gender-based violence, concluding that Brazil failed to exercise due diligence to prevent and respond to domes­ tic violence despite clear evidence against the accused and the seriousness of the charges. The Commission found that the case could be viewed as “part of a general pattern of negligence and lack of effective action by the State in prosecuting and convicting aggressors” and that it involved “not only failure to fulfil the obligation with respect to prosecute and convict, but also the obliga­ tion to prevent these degrading practices.”18 To fulfill due diligence obligations, States must provide survivors of gender-based violence with sufficient access to justice, ensuring that investigation and prosecution of these crimes is con­ ducted consistently and thoroughly. To ensure this, regional human rights courts emphasize the need for formalized and specialized training of State actors including judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement.19 In fact, the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights emphasized the impor­ tance of these trainings applying a gender lens.20 In the case of Jessica Lenahan, the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, specifically recommended the implementation of “training pro­ grams for the law enforcement and justice system officials who will participate in [the] execution” of domestic violence prevention programs as a way for the State to fulfill its due diligence obliga­ tion to prevent violence against women, noting the importance of confronting “traditional patriar­ chal gender roles” that are entrenched within legal systems.21 The United Nations Special Rapporteurs on violence against women and torture support the approaches taken by regional human rights courts.22 Specifically, States are obliged to create sys­ temic processes that protect, prosecute, punish, provide reparations for and prevent gender-based 15 See Velazquez Rodriguez v. Honduras, Judgment, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (ser. C) No. 4, ¶ 172 (Jul. 29, 1988); Maria Da Penha v. Brazil, Case 12.051, Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 54/01, Annual Report 2000, OEA/ Ser.L.V.II.111 Doc.20 rev. ¶ 55 and 56 (2000); Gonzalez et. al. v. Mexico, Judgment, Inter-Am. Ct. H.R. (Nov. 16 2009); see also Osman v. the United Kingdom, § 115, Reports 1998-VIII, ECHR, Judgment stated 28 October 1998; Opuz v. Turkey, App. No. 33401/02, 02 Eur. Ct. H.R. (2009). 16 See Velazquez Rodriguez, Judgement, ¶ 172. 17 See id. 18 Maria Da Penha v. Brazil at ¶ 55 and 56 (The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) also applied a version of the due diligence standard in the Osman v. United Kingdom case and developed its case law in relation to the obligations of States to provide protection against human rights violations by non-State actors in Z and Others v. the United Kingdom, App. No. 29392/95, 95 Eur. Comm’n H.R. 333, (2001); E and Others v. the United Kingdom, App. No. 33218/96, 96 Eur. Comm’n H.R. 590, (2002). 19 See generally Lenahan (Gonzales) et. al v. United States, Case 12.626, Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 80/11, OEA/Ser.L./V/II.98, doc. 7 rev. ¶ 122-6 (2011). 20 See ibid. 21 See Lenahan (Gonzales) et. al v. United States, Case 12.626, Inter-Am. Comm’n H.R., Report No. 80/11, OEA/ Ser.L./V/II.98, doc. 7 rev. ¶ 97, 201 (2011). 22 U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, Rashida Manjoo, Report of the Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women, Its Causes and Consequences, ¶ 70-71U.N. Doc. A/HRC/23/49, (May 14 2013), available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/51b86a684.html.