ABSTRACT
This chapter examines this prohibition and the consequences of determining that an act constitutes torture under international law. There is a wide disparity between the emphasis given by international human rights law to the prohibition against torture and the reality of its deliberate practice by many states. International human rights law has placed great emphasis on the prohibition of torture. The torturer seeks the total subordination of the victim through control over the victim’s body, thoughts and actions, hence the definitional focus upon psychological as well as physical suffering. Particular guarantees of the human rights of the girl-child are contained within both the Children’s Convention and the Women’s Convention. Violence as experienced by women and girls has not traditionally been identified as violating human rights standards, less as torture. Social conditions combine to increase the types of violent acts to which girls are susceptible, often committed with impunity.
