CAT/C/CPV/CO/1
article 14 of the Convention to provide full redress to victims of torture. The State
party should provide the Committee with information on redress, including
compensation, ordered by courts and ongoing rehabilitation of victims, including
resources allocated for that purpose.
Inadmissibility of statements made as a result of torture
38.
While noting that articles 35 (8) of the Constitution and 178 (2) (a) of the Criminal
Procedure Code provide for the inadmissibility of evidence obtained through torture or
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, the Committee is concerned at the lack of
information, owing to the absence of a State party report, on the instances in which these
provisions have been applied in practice (art. 15).
39.
The Committee calls on the State party to ensure in practice the inadmissibility
of evidence obtained as a result of torture and to provide it with information on cases
that have been dismissed because a statement was obtained as a result of torture and
whether any officials were tried and punished as a result.
Violence against women and children, including domestic violence
40.
While noting the efforts of the State party to combat gender-based violence and
child abuse (see paras. 6 (a) and (b) and 7), the Committee is concerned at the prevalence of
violence against women and children, particularly in the domestic sphere in urban areas and
in the poorest neighbourhoods. It is also concerned at information indicating that many
cases of violence against children remain unreported because the perpetrators are often
relatives of the victim. The Committee regrets that official statistics that could be used to
evaluate the situation with respect to sexual and domestic violence against women and
children in the State party have not been provided, owing to the absence of a State party
report (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16).
41.
The State party should continue its efforts to eradicate violence against women
and children, including domestic violence, in particular by:
(a)
Strengthening the training initiatives on combating sexual and domestic
violence for law enforcement officials and other persons in direct contact with the
victims, as well as the awareness-raising campaigns for the public at large, with a view,
in particular, to encouraging victims to come forward with complaints about these
abuses;
(b)
Ensuring the creation of adequate shelters, as well as the provision of full
redress for victims;
(c)
Ensuring that all cases of violence against women and children,
including sexual and domestic violence, are expeditiously and thoroughly investigated,
that the victims are protected and that the perpetrators are prosecuted and, if
convicted, punished with appropriate sanctions. The State party should provide the
Committee with information on the number of complaints of sexual and domestic
violence against women and children, the number of those complaints that have been
investigated, the number of protection orders that have been granted, the number of
prosecutions and convictions and the reparations provided to the victims.
Corporal punishment
42.
Although corporal punishment of children is unlawful, the Committee is concerned
at reports of frequent use of corporal punishment at home and in schools (art. 16).
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