may identify themselves as ‘victims’ or ‘survivors’. This General Comment uses the term ‘victim’ without prejudice to other terms. Victims are persons who individually or collectively suffer harm, including physical or psychological harm, through acts or omissions that constitute violations of the African Charter. 17. An individual is a victim regardless of whether the perpetrator of the violation is identified, apprehended, prosecuted or convicted, and regardless of any familial or other relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. The term ‘victim’ also includes affected immediate family or dependants of the victim as well as persons who have suffered harm while intervening to assist victims or to prevent victimisation. 18. State Parties are required to protect the dignity of victims at all times and ensure that victims are at the centre of the redress process. A victim-centred approach to redress requires an analysis and full understanding of the harm suffered and of the victims’ wishes. It needs to reflect their experiences and realities, so that the provided redress is responsive to their needs. States should ensure that victims have ownership of the redress process, and relevant actors providing redress are expected to work with the victims, and not on the victims. Victims should be enabled to play active and participatory roles in the process of obtaining redress, without fear of stigma and reprisals. 19. The identification of victims should be made on a case-by-case basis without discrimination, and it should be guided by the particular harm experienced by the individual or collective, rather than on the basis of exclusive focus on the act or omission itself. States should take into account the gendered nature of torture and other ill-treatment, including the particular effects of sexual and gender based violence, the aggravated impact of torture and other ill-treatment on children and the unique experiences of people with disabilities subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. 20. This General Comment uses a non-exhaustive list of grounds of discrimination. These include race, colour, ethnicity, age, religious belief or affiliation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, 6