p..CHPJi (" ~)6~!:U~:f1 Human and Peoples' Rights Human Rights our Collective Responsibility 197. These questions also suggest negative and gender stereotypes of women protesters, which assign them a subservient position in society, devalue their role and voices, and (when the message is absorbed by both women and society in general), contribute to women adopting and being assigned a passive role in society. 198. To sum up, it is clear that the sexual assaults against the Victims which occurred on the 10th of March 2011 were acts of gender-based violence, perpetrated by state actors, that went unpunished. For these reasons, based on the above analysis, the Airican Commission finds the Respondent State in violation of Articles 2 and Article 18 (3) of the African Charter. Violation of Article 5: Prohibition of Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment 199. Article 5 of the African Charter states that: "Every individual shall have the right to the respect of the dignity inherent in a human being and to the recognition of his legal status; All forms of exploitation and degradation of man particularly sla,very, slave trade, torture, cruel and inhuman or degrading punishment and treatment shall be prohibited." 200. In the present communication, the Complainants submitted that the authorities violated their right to dignity, firstly by engaging in acts amounting to cruet inhuman and degrading treatment (ill-treatment) and torture; Secondly, by failing to adequately investigate and prosecute those responsibly; and thirdly, by failing to provide redress to the Complainants, as a separate violation of Article 5.169 201. The Commission is also called upon in the present Communication to spell out its position on the relationship between Article 5 and sexual violence generally, i.e. sexual violence and rape (and forced genital examinations or virginity tests specifically) as a distinct form of torture. 202. In the first instance, in determining whether the alleged acts inflicted on the Victims amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment (ill-treatment) in the scope of Article 5, the Commission reiterates its holding in International Pen and Others v. Nigeria170 that Article 5 of the African Charter prohibits not only torture but cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. 169See,Paragraph 87 of the Written Statement 170Communications 471 P ,1 g C Africa!1' Union on Merit 137/94,139/94, 154/96 & 161/97 The African Commission ) https:/achpr.au.ITlt/O 0a