166. To sum up, it is clear that the sexual assaults against the Victims which occurred on 25 May 2005 were acts of gender-based violence, perpetrated by state actors, and non-state actors under the control of state actors, that went unpunished. The violations were designed to silence women who were participating in the demonstration and deter their activism in the political affairs of the Respondent State which in turn, failed in its 167. AC HP R inescapable responsibility to take action against the perpetrators. For these reasons, based on the above analysis, the African Commission finds the Respondent State in violation of Articles 2 and Article 18 (3) of the African Charter. Article 3- Right to Equality before the Law and Equal Protection of the Law 168. Articles 3(1) and (2) of the African Charter on the other hand provide that, “Every individual shall be equal before the law and that every individual shall be entitled to equal protection of the law.” 169. The Complainants argue that the Victims were subjected to all the violations alleged basically because the Respondent State did not protect them from the perpetrators. 170. The Respondent State contends that the security agencies have also taken all necessary security measures, whether in terms of securing the demonstrations, or disengaging the demonstrators in accordance with the specified rules, and providing the Victims with the necessary level of protection. 48