Teresa Fernández Paredes 61 against Torture,22 noting that the element of “purpose” is met when specific violence is committed against women, since such violence is inherently discriminatory and one of the possible purposes listed in the Convention is discrimination.23 This report was important in that it represented a step toward greater protection for women against torture and because the Rapporteur recognized the existence of other forms of violence in the private sphere that particularly affect women and may constitute torture and ill-treatment. He specifically focused on three forms of violence: domestic violence, female genital mutilation, and human trafficking24: “While there is no exhaustive list of forms of violence that may constitute torture or cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment (…) the Special Rapporteur would like to focus on three of them: domestic violence (in the form of intimate partner violence), female genital mutilation and human trafficking. The Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight these forms of violence for three reasons. First, they are widespread and touch millions of women around the world every year. Second, in many parts of the world they are still trivialized and the comparison between them and ‘classic’ torture will raise awareness with regard to the level of atrocity that they can reach. Third, stating that these forms of violence can amount to torture if States fail to act with due diligence, illustrates the parallels between torture and other forms of violence against women.”25 Succeeding Special Rapporteurs on Torture have continued to apply a gender perspective to issues relating to torture. In 2016, Special Rapporteur Juan Méndez issued a report analyzing “the applicability of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or pun­ ishment in international law to the unique experiences of women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons.”26 The Rapporteur indicated that “States are responsible for the acts of private actors when States fail to exercise due diligence to prevent, stop or sanction them, or to provide reparations to victims.”27 International jurisprudence of the universal human rights system, the Inter-American and European regional systems, and ICL and International Humanitarian Law (IHL), have all recog­ nized rape per se as a form of torture. ICL was influenced by advances in IHL, or the law of war, which regulates the conduct of internal and international armed conflicts. As Patricia Sellers has pointed out, rape has been considered a war crime since the 1st century B.C., although this fact has not served as a deterrence to its widespread commission.28 22 UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, http:// www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx. 23 Citing domestic and international jurisprudence, the Rapporteur also noted that rape and other serious acts of sexual violence committed by officials in contexts of detention and control not only constitute torture and ill-treatment, but they are an especially grave form of these conducts, because of the stigma attached to them. He also pointed to the heightened risk of torture and ill-treatment if women are guarded by men or not strictly separated from male detainees. 24 Nowak. Op. cit., paras. 44-58. 25 Ibid., para. 44. 26 HRC, Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, A/HRC/31/57, 5 January 2016. 27 Ibid. Juan Méndez, para. 51. 28 Viseur Sellers, Patricia: The Prosecution of Sexual Violence in conflict: The Importance of Human Rights as Means of interpretation [online] http://www2.ohchr.org/english/issues/women/docs/Paper_Prosecution_of_ Sexual_Violence.pdf, Women Under Siege. When rape became a war crime (hint: It’s not when you think). Blog. By Kerry K. Paterson/Guest Blogger. July 13, 2016.