that cause mental suffering to the victim” 25. Additionally it stresses that also “children, pupils and patients in teaching and medical institutions” are protected by the prohibition of torture.26 The Committee against Torture further develops this view and holds that torture and other forms of ill-treatment can happen in all contexts of custody or control and lists as examples prisons, hospitals, or schools “as well as contexts where the failure of the State to intervene encourages and enhances the danger of privately inflicted harm”. 27 Additionally, the Committee states that under specific circumstances the State bears responsibility for acts of torture or other forms of ill-treatment committed by non-State officials or private persons.28 Concerning children, the Committee on the Rights of the Child defines torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment as “violence in all its forms against children in order to […] punish children for unlawful or unwanted behaviours, or to force children to engage in activities against their will” 29 which is typically applied by police and law-enforcement officers but also done by staff of residential institutions and persons who have power over children. Case Study 1 The trend towards a broader approach to the definition of torture and other forms of ill-treatment is also supported by the then Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak. He emphasizes that State obligations concerning torture extend “into the private sphere and should be interpreted to include State failure to protect persons within its jurisdiction from torture and ill-treatment committed by private individuals”. Acts within the private sphere can encompass various forms of violence within the family or the community, such as domestic violence or trafficking in human beings. Furthermore it is stressed that “these forms of violence can amount to torture if States fail to act with due diligence”. 30 Concerning children, any form of corporal punishment can be seen as contrary to the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Therefore States have to take adequate legal and educational measures in order to ensure that children are protected in the public sphere but also in the private sphere.31 Moreover, the ECtHR assesses acts which go beyond the traditional detainee context as violation of Art. 3 ECHR (prohibition of torture and inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment). In Opuz v Turkey the Court held that the physical injuries and psychological pressure committed by the applicant’s husband amount to ill-treatment.32 In M.C. v Bulgaria, the Court held that the State did not fulfil its positive obligations under Art. 3 and Art. 8 ECHR (right to respect for family and private life), because the authorities did not prosecute the rape of a girl.33 2.2 Trafficking in Human Beings 2.2.1 Existing Legal Framework to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings Case of A. v. UK, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights CCPR General Comment No. 20: Replaces general comment 7 concerning prohibition of torture and cruel treatment or punishment (Art. 7) Trafficking in human beings is not at all a recent phenomenon. Nevertheless, a common definition for the term ‘trafficking’ could only be internationally agreed on in the year 2000. Until then, the term was not defined in international law.34 In the first part of the 20th century trafficking in huReport of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, , 31 Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on the question of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, , CAT General Comment No. 2: Implementation of article 2 by States parties. Case of Opuz v Turkey Application no. 33401/02 Gender and Torture – Conference Report CRC General Comment No. 13: The right of the child to freedom from all forms of violence 33 no. 39272/98 34 16 Case of M.C. v Bulgaria Application The International Law of Human Trafficking