A/74/148 69. In the light of the scale and nature of this phenomenon and of the societal factors that sustain it, States should adopt multifaceted strategies and measures to prevent and combat it effectively. In determining appropriate policies, measures and practices, the victims’ rights and needs, including the best interests of the child, should be prioritized and safeguarded at all times. VI. Recommendations 70. In the light of the above observations, the Special Rapporteur offers the following recommendations to States with a view to strengthening their capacity to ensure the effective prevention of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in the context of domestic violence. A. Ratification or adoption of international instruments 71. States should adopt and/or ratify, without reservations, all international legal instruments aiming to give effect to the prohibition of torture and illtreatment, including the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Optional Protocol thereto, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Optional Protocol thereto, and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. States should also adopt the measures set out in the Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence (the Istanbul Convention) and in other relevant universal and regional instruments relating to gender-based violence and the protection of the child. B. National laws, policies and practices 72. States should refrain from promoting violent, discriminatory or dehumanizing narratives, policies and practices that contribute to societal norms and structures that uphold and perpetuate domestic violence. 73. States should repeal or reform any laws, policies and practices that instigate, permit, enable or tolerate domestic violence, for instance, by allowing husbands to “chastise” their wives or children; by excluding marital rape from criminal prosecution; by restricting access to divorce, property, inheritance or child custody rights and related legal proceedings; or by limiting the capacity of victims to prevent, escape from or otherwise protect themselves against domestic violence. 74. States should take legislative and other measures to criminalize and prevent domestic violence and to empower victims or potential victims to resist or escape from such abuse. They should reform judicial systems and procedures so as to enable victims or potential victims to obtain protective measures against any form of domestic violence. 75. In particular, States should never perpetrate, instigate or otherwise encourage domestic violence, but instead should explicitly prohibit, prevent, investigate and ensure appropriate accountability and redress for such abuse, including between current and former spouses. That includes, inter alia, any form of the following predominant patterns of domestic violence, all of which are relevant under the prohibition of torture and ill-treatment: killings; physical violence; sexual violence; psychological and emotional violence, including 20/23 19-11892