A/67/44 should also ensure the provision of training for law enforcement officials, judges and lawyers on the methods used to detect and investigate cases in which statements have been obtained by torture. Violence against women (21) The Committee takes note of the different measures adopted by the State party to combat violence against women, which include providing five police stations with the resources to register complaints of domestic violence. It also takes note of the implementation in seven public hospitals of the National Programme for Prevention and Comprehensive Care for Victims of Gender Violence and of the introduction of custodial penalties to punish acts of domestic violence. However, the Committee is concerned by the lack of a specific law to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women, particularly sexual abuse, domestic violence and violent killings of women, in spite of the high incidence of such violence in the State party (arts. 2, 12, 13 and 16). The State party should intensify its efforts to ensure the implementation of urgent and effective protective measures to prevent and combat all forms of violence against women and girls, particularly sexual abuse, domestic violence and violent killings of women. Such measures should include, in particular, the rapid adoption of a law to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women that is in conformity with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and with general recommendation No. 19 of 1994 on violence against women of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. The State party should also undertake broad awareness-raising campaigns and provide training courses on the prevention of violence against women and girls for officials who are in direct contact with victims (law enforcement officers, judges, lawyers, social workers, etc.) and for the general public. (22) The Committee notes with concern the general prohibition of abortion in article 109 of the Criminal Code, which applies even to cases of sexual violence, incest or when the foetus is not viable, with the sole exception of cases where the foetus dies as an indirect result of an intervention that is necessary to avert a serious threat to the life of the mother. This means that the women concerned are constantly reminded of the violation committed against them, which causes serious traumatic stress and carries a risk of long-lasting psychological problems. The Committee also notes with concern that women who request an abortion under the circumstances described above are punished. The Committee is also concerned about the denial of medical care to women who have decided to have an abortion, which could seriously jeopardize their physical and mental health and could constitute cruel and inhuman treatment. The Committee expresses its deep concern that illegal abortions are still one of the main causes of mortality among women. The Committee also notes with concern that medical professionals can be investigated and punished by the State party for practising therapeutic abortions. The Committee is also concerned that medical professionals have reported abortions that have come to their knowledge under the protection of professional secrecy, in violation of the profession’s code of ethics (arts. 2 and 16). The Committee urges the State party to review its legislation on abortion, as recommended by the Human Rights Council, the Human Rights Committee, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in their latest concluding observations, and to consider providing for further exceptions to the general prohibition of abortion, in particular for cases of therapeutic abortion and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest. The State party should, in accordance with the guidelines issued by the World Health Organization, guarantee immediate and unconditional treatment for persons seeking emergency medical care. The State party should also take measures to GE.12-44492 81