the Elderly and People with Disabilities; (c) the Judiciary, which has had a Criminal Trial Court for crimes of femicide and other forms of violence against women since October 2012, with the Unit for Women and Gender Analysis that trains and advises Judiciary staff, and hears crimes of domestic violence and violence against women, and also special courts and tribunals with jurisdiction in the area of femicide and other forms of violence against women created in 2010; (d) the Legislature, whose working committees include the Committee for Women’s Affairs; (e) the Public Criminal Defense Institute and its efforts to implement the Program of free legal aid for victims of violence and their families; (f) the creation of the National Institute of Forensic Science (INACIF) on September 8, 2006, which began operating on July 19, 2007.327 Similarly, the State referred to the following measures and institutions established within the Public Prosecution Service: creation of the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women’s Affairs and the special prosecutors’ offices that exclusively examine crimes of femicide; the Special Prosecutor’s Office for Women and Children Victims for other departments with ethnic cultural relevance to respond to indigenous women; the Holistic Care Model (MAI) for cases of domestic violence and sexual offenses in the metropolitan area; the Gesell Chamber; a mobile magistrate’s court to provide immediate protection for women and children victims of sexual offenses; the Unit for Investigating Sexual Offenses established on August 1 2012. It also indicated that, the special protocol “General instructions for the criminal investigation of the crime of femicide” was being used by the Public Prosecution Service, under General Instruction 06-2013;328 the Prosecutor General and the Head of the Public Prosecution Service had established “strategic criminal prosecution, interinstitutional coordination, care and protection for victims and witnesses, and institutional strengthening” as part of their institutional policies for 2011-2014; a series of directives had been implemented aimed at adapting the work of criminal investigation and prosecution to the relevant international standards; 329 actions to protect and provide care to victims and witnesses had been promoted, 330 and personnel were receiving constant training. 252. As in the case of Veliz Franco et al., the Court appreciates the efforts made by the State to enact legislation, adopt other legal acts, and establish institutions and public policies aimed at combating gender-based violence, as well as its efforts to improve its criminal investigation system. These advances constitute structural indicators in relation to the adoption of measures that, in principle, are aimed at combating violence and discrimination against women, or their application contributes to this.331 According to the State, from the time INACIF came into operation, protocols and guidelines were created and implemented that updated autopsy practices and that go much further than the mere identification of corpses. The most significant change is that its main function is to obtain scientific evidence that subsequently serves to press charges and prove the possible link between the accused and the injuries to the corpse. The State indicated that the use of these protocols has been improved over the years. Accordingly, it considered that it had complied with the Commission’s recommendation regarding the adoption/adaptation of investigation protocols and expertise, and underscored that the Commission had not provided sufficient or specific elements as regards which part of the protocols implemented is not satisfactory. 328 This protocol is aimed at institutionalizing the working methodology to strengthen and guide the criminal investigation and prosecution of the crimes of femicide and attempted femicide by officials of the Public Prosecution Service, and its purpose is to ensure that every murder or attempted murder of a woman is investigated immediately, in an orderly and thorough manner, taking into consideration the legal framework for protection of the lives of women, female adolescents and girls. 329 The purpose of these directives is as follows: (i) to reinforce the Crime Scene Unit; (ii) to create the Manual of norms and procedures for processing the crime scene, and (iii) to issue a series of general instructions during 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2013 that regulated and provided guidelines on criminal investigation and prosecution, processing the crime scene, collection and preservation of evidence, and enforcement of the Law against Femicide and other forms of violence against women. 330 They include, the Model for the comprehensive care of the victim; implementation of the model for care of the victim (7-2008); implementation of the Protocol for stabilizing the victim during the first visit (8-2008); implementation of the Protocol for care of children and adolescents, direct and collateral victims, and implementation of the Protocol for attending victims of crimes against sexual liberty and safety and decency in the Offices for Attention to Victims (102008). 331 Cf. Case of Veliz Franco et al. v. Guatemala. Preliminary objections, merits, reparations and costs. Judgment of May 19, 2014. Series C No. 277, para. 264. 327 82