A/74/148 the attributive analysis into the way the State may be held responsible for its involvement in, including its failure to take appropriate action against, domestic violence. B. Substantive analysis: domestic violence as torture or ill-treatment 8. From a substantive perspective, torture and ill-treatment can take many forms but, in essence, always involve a violation of physical, mental or emotional integrity that is incompatible with human dignity. Under universally applicable human rights law, torture denotes the intentional infliction on a powerless person of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, for purposes such as obtaining information or a confession, punishment, intimidation or coercion, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, whereas ill-treatment denotes any other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment that, contrary to torture, does not necessarily require the intentionality and purposefulness of the act or omission, the severity of the resulting pain or suffering, or the powerlessness of the victim ( A/72/178, para. 31, and E/CN.4/2006/6, paras. 38–41). As the Special Rapporteur has previously clarified, “powerlessness” means that someone is overpowered or otherwise under the control of the perpetrator and, at the time of the relevant act or omission, cannot effectively resist or escape the infliction of pain or suffering ( A/72/178, para. 31). Conceptually, torture and ill-treatment can occur in both custodial and extracustodial contexts as well as in both the public and the private sphere, however these may be defined. 9. As illustrated by the predominant patterns discussed in the present report, domestic violence degrades, humiliates, coerces, brutalizes and otherwise violates the physical, mental and emotional integrity of persons who are often subjected to controlling and disempowering situations or environments. In this context, pain or suffering is in general inflicted intentionally, or even systematically, for purposes such as punishment, intimidation or coercion of any kind, or to express or consolidate gender-based or other forms of discrimination. Depending on the circumstances, the pain, suffering or humiliation resulting from domestic violence can range from comparatively moderate and brief to extremely severe and long-lasting but, being abusive by definition, always amounts to a violation of physi cal, mental and emotional integrity that is incompatible with human dignity. 10. From a substantive perspective under international law, and regardless of questions of State responsibility and of individual criminal culpability, both of which need to be separately assessed, domestic violence therefore always amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and very often to physical or psychological torture. C. Attributive analysis: international practice concerning State responsibility in the context of domestic violence 11. The reports of previous mandate-holders and the practice and jurisprudence of universal and regional oversight mechanisms have confirmed that domestic violence gives rise to a wide range of human rights obligations, i ncluding the obligation of States to prevent acts of torture and ill-treatment within their jurisdiction, including at the hands of private actors (arts. 2 and 16 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishme nt). 12. Thus, the Special Rapporteur has previously observed that States are internationally responsible for torture or ill-treatment when they fail to exercise due diligence to protect against such violence or when they legitimize domestic violence 19-11892 5/23