146. The standard for determining whether discrimination has taken place was canvassed by the Inter-American Court when it made its Advisory Opinion on the proposed Amendments to the Naturalization Provisions of the Constitution of Costa Rica. The Court stated that "...no discrimination exists if the difference in treatment has a legitimate purpose and if it does not lead to situations which are contrary to justice, to reason or to the nature of things...."39 This was also reflected by the UN Human Rights Committee when it held that "Not every differentiation of treatment will constitute discrimination, if the criteria for such differentiation are reasonable and objective and if the aim is to achieve a purpose which is legitimate under the Covenant."40 147. Can the differentiation of treatment of the Victims in the present Communication be classified as reasonable and legitimate as expressed by the UN Human Rights Committee? 148. It follows that, the principle of equality or non-discrimination does not mean that all differential treatments and distinctions are forbidden because some distinctions are necessary when they are legitimate and justifiable. 149. Looking at the arguments of the parties in this Communication, the African Commission is of the opinion that the treatment was neither legitimate, nor justifiable because there is no reasonable cause behind the discrimination that was inflicted upon the Victims. 150. Furthermore, in addition to the statements made by the Victims, a statement made by a woman named Rabab al-Mandy41 in the Complainants' submissions corroborated the sexual harassment inflicted on them. She stated: "The thugs started beating and assaulting me. They put their hands up my clothes, and fondled all my sensitive areas under the eyes of the officers."42 151. The experience of another woman, Aida Seif el-Dawla,43 who was also at scene, supports the arguments of the Complainants about the gender- specific nature of the violations. Aida Self el-Dawla alleges that when she was being assaulted, she tried to ask for help from the police officers, who instead hit her and retorted; "This is so that you stop coming to the areas belonging to men!"44 152. It is clear that the incidents alleged took place in a form of a systematic sexual violence targeted at the women participating or present in the scene of the demonstration. Furthermore, perpetrators of the assaults seemed to be aware of the context of the Egyptian society; an Arab Muslim society where a woman's virtue is measured by keeping herself physically and sexually unexposed except to her husband. The perpetrators were aware of the consequences of such acts on the Victims, both to themselves and their families, but still perpetrated the acts as a means of punishing and silencing them from expressing their political opinions. 153. In view of the fact that the Respondent State did not refute the allegations made by the Complainants in the framework of the actual acts of violence that were committed against the Victims, and also following the analysis of the statements from the Victims, the African Commission concurs with the Complainants that the type of violence used during the demonstrations was perpetrated based solely on the sex of the persons present in the scene of the demonstration. In other words, the violence was gender-specific and discriminatory by extension. 154. Furthermore, if the Respondent State failed to protect the Victims from the violations that they incurred, and did not show any evidence of whether the differential treatment was legitimate, it goes without saying that the State has fallen short of its obligations under 18(3) of the African Charter. 155. The Complainants also allege that the Respondent State failed to investigate the sexual assaults that were perpetrated against the Victims. This Commission notes that the concept of human rights is based on a typical recognition that every human being is equal and also recognizes the inherent dignity and worth of every human being. Accordingly, when women are targeted due to their political opinion for the mere fact of being women, and are not assured the necessary level of protection by the State in the face of that violence, a range of their fundamental human rights are at stake, including their right to sexual equality. The State therefore has an obligation to investigate such acts of violence against women, whether committed by state or non-state actors. 156. The African Commission also notes that a State may be in violation of the African Charter, for ads of non-state actors, if it complicit in the violations alleged, has sufficient control over those actors, or fails to investigate those violations. The jurisprudence of the African Commission has reaffirmed this position in Commission Nationale des Droits de l'Homme et des Libertés v. Chad.45 In that Communication, the African Commission stated that, "If a state neglects to ensure the rights in the African Charter, this can constitute a violation, even if the State or its age ts [sic] are not the immediate cause of the violation."46 157. Furthermore, in the SERAC case47 the African Commission stated that "Governments have a duty to protect their citizens, not only through appropriate legislation and effective enforcement but also by 14