66 accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons”269 and so did the Platform for Action of the Beijing World Conference on Women.270 In 2006, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women stated that “[b]ased on practice and the opinio juris […] it may be concluded that there is a norm of customary international law that obliges States to prevent and respond with due diligence to acts of violence against women.”271 255. In the case of Maria Da Penha v. Brazil (2000), presented by a victim of domestic violence, the Inter-American Commission applied the Convention of Belém do Pará for the first time and decided that the State had violated its obligation to exercise due diligence to prevent, punish and eliminate domestic violence, by failing to convict and punish the perpetrator for 15 years, despite all the complaints opportunely submitted.272 The Commission concluded that, since the violation was part of a “general pattern of negligence and lack of effectiveness of the State,” not only had the obligation to prosecute and convict been violated, but also the obligation to prevent this degrading practice.273 256. In addition, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on violence against women has provided guidelines on the measures that States should take to comply with their international obligations of due diligence with regard to prevention, namely: ratification of the international human rights instruments; constitutional guarantees on equality for women; existence of national legislation and administrative sanctions providing adequate redress for women victims of violence; executive policies or plans of action that attempt to deal with the question of violence against women; sensitization of the criminal justice system and the police to gender issues; availability and accessibility of support services; existence of measures in the field of education and the media to raise awareness and modify practices that discriminate against women, and collection of data and statistics on violence against women.274 257. Furthermore, according to a report of the U.N. Secretary-General: It is good practice to make the physical environment safer for women and community safety audits have been used to identify dangerous locations, discuss women’s fears and obtain women’s recommendations for improving their safety. Prevention of violence against women should be an explicit element in urban and rural planning and in the design of buildings and 269 Cf. United Nations, Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women. General Assembly resolution 48/104 of 20 December 1993. A/RES/48/104, February 23, 1994, Article 4.c. 270 United Nations, Report of the Fourth World Conference on Women, Beijing, September 4 to 15, 1995, Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action approved at the 16° plenary session held on September 15, 1995. A/CONF.177/20/Rev.1, para. 124 b. 271 Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, supra note 64. 272 IACHR, Case 12,051, Report No. 54/01, Maria Da Penha Maia Fernandes v. Brazil, Annual Report, 2000, OEA/Ser.L/V.II.111 Doc.20 rev. (2000). 273 IACHR, Maria Da Penha Maia Fernandes v. Brazil, supra note 272, para. 56. CEDAW has ruled similarly. Thus, in the case of A.T. v. Hungary (2005), it determined that the State had not complied with the obligations established in the Convention to prevent the violence against the victim and to protect her. In particular, it stated that it was “particularly concerned that no specific legislation has been enacted to combat domestic violence and sexual harassment and that no protection or exclusion orders or shelters exist for the immediate protection of women victims of domestic violence” (Cf. CEDAW, Communication No. 2/2003, Ms. A. T. v. Hungary, 32° session, January 26, 2005 para. 9.3). Similarly, in the case of Yildirim v. Austria, in which the victim was murdered by her husband, CEDAW found that the State had failed in its obligation of due diligence because it had not detained him (Cf. CEDAW, Communication No. 6/2005, Fatma Yildirim v. Austria, 39° session, 23 July to 10 August 2007, para. 12.1.4 and 12.1.5). 274 Cf. United Nations, Violence against women in the family: Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Radhika Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights resolution 1995/85, UN Doc. E/CN.4/1999/68, 10 March 1999, para. 25.