CAT/OP/C/57/4 55. Intersex persons are born with physical or biological sex characteristics, including sexual anatomy, reproductive organs and/or chromosomal patterns, that do not fit the typical definitions of male or female.12 C. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons 56. Discrimination can manifest itself directly or indirectly; intentionally or unintentionally; de facto, when it manifests itself in practice; or de jure, when its source can be traced to the law or a legal norm. 57. De jure discrimination is particularly relevant in relation to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, as much ill-treatment directed against them derives from the existence of legal norms: 76 countries retain laws that criminalize types of sexual orientation or gender identity, typically prohibiting certain sexual acts between adults of the same sex, or certain gender expressions. In some cases, the wording of the law refers to vague and undefined concepts, such as “crimes against the order of nature”, “morality” or “debauchery”. Penalties include life imprisonment in some countries, and the death penalty in eight countries. 58. Criminalization relating to sexual orientation and gender identity promotes torture and ill-treatment: where same-sex conduct is illegal, sexual orientation may be treated as a problem that needs to be corrected, ignored or used to legitimize violence directed at individuals who engage in such conduct (see A/HRC/14/20, para. 23). Such laws contribute to a social environment that condones abuse, as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons are already thought to be engaging in illegal activity. Thus, it is logical to infer that police are less likely to investigate crimes against them. 13 The consequences of such perceptions also hinder related State efforts to protect the integrity or life of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. For example, in one country where samesex relations are criminalized, the Subcommittee was informed that the distribution of condoms in male prisons would be seen as promoting crime and was therefore prohibited, exposing inmates to a higher risk of HIV infection. 59. Another major concern is the lack of statistics on ill-treatment and torture on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, resulting from the absence of appropriate methods of self-identification, data collection and processing. As noted by OHCHR, official statistics tend to understate the number of incidents, and prejudicial and inexact categorization of cases results in misidentification, concealment and underreporting (see A/HRC/29/23, para. 25). The systemic failure in data collection often results in the virtual invisibility of the concerns and problems of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons. The rates of sexually transmitted infections among transgender persons are 40 times higher than those among the general population, but that alarming difference can be rendered invisible unless data is broken down by gender identity. 14 60. Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons is exacerbated in situations of deprivation of liberty. Such persons often experience serious discrimination, even before arrest, as arbitrary detention may occur as the result of 12 13 14 12 See the factsheet on intersex, available at www.unfe.org/en/fact-sheets. See Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, “Report on the situation of human rights in Jamaica” (2012), para. 271. Available at www.oas.org/en/iachr/docs/pdf/Jamaica2012eng.pdf. PAHO, “Blueprint for the provision of comprehensive care to transgender and transsexual persons and their communities in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC)”, p. 7.