CCPR/C/132/D/2615/2015 Advance unedited version Covenant. […]. Such action may involve granting for a time to the part of the population concerned certain preferential treatment in specific matters as compared with the rest of the population. However, as long as such action is needed to correct discrimination in fact, it is a case of legitimate differentiation under the Covenant.” 14 3.5 The author’s rights to privacy, safety from unlawful attacks on honour and reputation, and family life were also breached, in violation of articles 17 and 23 (1), read alone and in conjunction with articles 2 (1), 2 (3), 3 and 26 of the Covenant. International and regional human rights jurisprudence recognizes rape as a grave form of interference in the privacy and family life of victims.15 Security forces entered the author’s house and raped her in front of her three-year-old daughter. This violated essential aspects and values of her private life, represented an intrusion in her sexual life, breached her right to freely decide with whom to have intimate relations, and caused her to lose total control over those most personal and intimate decisions. The fact that the author became pregnant as a consequence of rape stigmatized her and her younger daughter further and subjected her to a climate of shame and denigration within her family and community. 3.6 The author is entitled to an effective remedy, including compensation for the harm suffered, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non-recurrence. In its Views on Maharajan v. Nepal, 16 the Committee requested the State party to amend its legislation establishing a 35-day statutory limitation on criminal complaints for rape, so as to bring the legislation into conformity with the Covenant. The Committee also requested the State party to criminalize torture and repeal all laws that grant impunity to alleged perpetrators of acts of torture. The State party has not implemented those recommendations. Under international and regional human rights jurisprudence, State parties must provide for appropriate compensation that is commensurate with the gravity of the violations; take effective measures to ensure that court proceedings involving rape allegations are pursued without undue delay; and ensure that all legal procedures in cases involving crimes of rape and other sexual offences are impartial and fair and are not affected by prejudice or stereotypical gender notions. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women also requested that the State party review its legislative definition of rape, and provide training for judges, lawyers, law enforcement officers and medical personnel in understanding crimes of rape and other sexual offences in a gender-sensitive manner, so as to avoid revictimization of women having reported rape cases and to ensure that personal mores and values do not affect decision-making.17 3.7 With respect to reparation, the author requests that the Committee call on the State party to: a) promptly and effectively investigate the crimes alleged by the author and bring the perpetrators to justice; b) provide integral reparation and prompt, fair and adequate compensation to the author for the material and moral damage caused; c) provide to the author restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction (including restoration of dignity and reputation), and guarantees of non-repetition; d) provide an official apology to the author on the occasion of a private ceremony, acknowledging the State’s international responsibility and consulting with the author in advance regarding the modalities of the ceremony, to ensure that she is not subjected to re-victimization or exposed to harmful consequences for her security and privacy; and e) provide to the author free-of-charge medical and psychological care. The author also requests the Committee to call upon the State party to implement the following general measures: a) define torture as an autonomous crime in its criminal legislation; b) adapt the definition of rape and other forms of sexual violence in its legislation in accordance with international standards, and codify rape as a war crime and a crime against humanity; c) amend the 35-day statute of limitations for the crime of rape and bring it into line with international human rights legal standards; d) ensure that investigations and forensic analyses, mainly with regard to rape and other forms of sexual violence, follow international standards, 14 15 16 17 6 General comment No. 18 on non-discrimination, adopted on 10 November 1989 (U.N. Doc. HRI/GEN/1/Rev.6 at 146(2003).) The author cites, for example, European Court of Human Rights, M.C. v. Bulgaria, Application no. 39272/98, judgement of 4 December 2003, para. 153. Maharajan v. Nepal (CCPR/C/105/D/1863/2009), para. 9. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Vertido v. Philippines (CEDAW/C/46/D/18/2008), para. 8.9.