,~C"·r)·:. ACHPR , .' African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility noted in Safia Ishaq Mohammed Issa (represented by The REDRESS Trust) v. Sudan,8o that guaranteeing access to justice that is free of discriminatory treatment based on sex or any other ground is a prerequisite for ensuring effective access to justice for victims of sexual violence, particularly women. 225. The above decisions and standards not only establish that sexual violence targeted against women is gender-based, but also set standards for gender equality that influence the perception and responds to sexual assault and related issues. 226. In the present case, the Complainants submitted that the mass rape and other forms of sexual violence committed by SAF forces and state authorities against women amounted to gender-based violence. They submitted that the conduct of the Respondent State's authorities was specifically directed against women because they are women and because it affected them disproportionately. 227. Specifically, the Complainants allege that, in November 2011, PDF soldiers stationed at [au (South Kordofan), a military base near the South Sudan border, assaulted and raped two Nuba girls, ages 14 and 16, who were fleeing to the Yida refugee camp in South Sudan.s- In Blue Nile, two young girls are reported to have been killed as a result of being raped by around 30 men.82 Although the Commission notes the absence of any direct evidence before it on these serious allegations, their widespread nature reported by various organisations and the inability of the Respondent to refute them make sexual violence or the threat of it indeed, significantly plausible. 228. The Complainants also submitted that the Respondent State's authorities committed discrimination based on colour and ethnicity considering that numerous victims, including children and women from the Nuba ethnic group have been killed or threatened to be killed for being "black" and for their political opinion on suspicion of being SPLMj A-North mcmbers.P The Complainants submitted that the Respondent State's forces and authorities singled out Ail O(g,," or the African ((~~ Unlon\.'iloT,i hllps:/achpr.au.intlO 0 Ct