5.2.1. CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT International conventions do not define cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in such specific terms as torture. The CAT describes inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as acts that do not amount to torture. This may be because the acts do not involve severe pain or suffering or because they are not inflicted for one of the enumerated purposes. This could, for example, include unnecessary use of force against prisoners, unacceptable prison conditions, or prolonged solitary confinement. Degrading treatment could include any treatment that grossly humiliates an individual; it would not be necessary for such acts to involve physical mistreatment or pain. In essence, torture, cruel treatment, inhuman treatment, and degrading treatment are seen as a progression, with torture being the most severe and degrading treatment being at the lower end of the scale. The key point, however, is that all treatment falling into any of these categories is strictly and unequivocally prohibited by OSCE commitments and by international law. As such, any individual complaint alleging torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment would be an extremely grave matter and would constitute a valid basis for an OSCE field operation to take action on an individual complaint. For more detailed guidelines on actions that OSCE field operations can take to combat torture, see Preventing Torture: A Handbook for OSCE Field Staff.24 5.3 VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Violence against women is often committed by relatives, such as husbands or fathers, rather than state actors and would thus fall outside the scope of torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment as defined above. Since the 1980s, however, international standards, including OSCE commitments, have emerged that are very clear on the matter of domestic violence and the duties of states to eradicate violence in the family.25 The OSCE Moscow Document states clearly that participating States should “seek to eliminate all forms of violence against women ... by ensuring adequate legal prohibitions against such acts and other appropriate measures”.26 In cases of domestic violence, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has recommended that legislation: 24 Published by the ODIHR in 1999, hardcopies are available from the ODIHR, or it can be found on the ODIHR web- site at http://www.osce.org/odihr. 25 Moscow Document, Paragraph 40.7; Charter for European Security, Paragraph 24. 26 Paragraph 40.7. 47 5