A/HRC/7/3 page 6 24. On 23 November 2007, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, he issued a joint statement with the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, calling on States to use the human rights framework in a gender-sensitive way to strengthen the protection of women from violence. II. STRENGTHENING THE PROTECTION OF WOMEN FROM TORTURE A. Introduction: towards a gender-sensitive interpretation of torture 25. The present chapter seeks to respond to and complement initiatives in the area of gender mainstreaming and combating violence against women, such as Human Rights Council resolution 6/30, the Secretary-General’s in-depth study on all forms of violence against women, together with the United Nations follow-up campaign on violence against women to be launched in 2008, the focus of the High Commissioner for Human Rights on ending impunity, especially for sexual violence, and the call by the Special Rapporteur on violence against women to fully apply the human rights framework to the concerns of women.4 26. The aim is to ensure that the torture protection framework is applied in a gender-inclusive manner with a view to strengthening the protection of women from torture. While a variety of international instruments explicitly or implicitly provide for an extensive set of obligations with respect to violence against women or rape, classifying an act as “torture” carries a considerable additional stigma for the State and reinforces legal implications, which include the strong obligation to criminalize acts of torture, to bring perpetrators to justice and to provide reparation to victims. 27. Torture is prohibited under a wide range of international instruments, such as article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). Torture is also prohibited by many regional instruments as well as under international criminal law and international humanitarian law. CAT is the only legally binding instrument at the universal level concerned exclusively with the eradication of torture. Its article 1 lays down a definition, which sets out four elements required to meet the threshold of torture: • Severe pain and suffering, physical or mental; • Intent; • Purpose; • State involvement. 4 A/HRC/4/34, para. 56.