234. Based on international instruments such as the Istanbul Protocol325 and the guidelines of the World Health Organization,326 the Inter-American Court has indicated in several cases which guiding principles should be observed in a criminal investigation into sexual violence, including: i) that “the statement should be made in a safe and secure environment that provides privacy and instils confidence;”327 ii) “the statement should be recorded in order to avoid or limit the need for its repetition”; iii) “provide both emergency and, if necessary, continuing medical, prophylactic and psychological care to the victim, using a treatment protocol aimed at lessening the consequences of the offense.”328; iv) “a complete and detailed medical and psychological appraisal should be made [...] by suitable trained personnel, if possible of the sex indicated by the victim, advising the latter that she may be accompanied by someone she trusts if she so wishes;”329 v) “the investigative actions are documented and coordinated and the evidence is handled diligently, taking sufficient samples, conducting tests to determine the possible authorship of the act, securing other evidence such as the victim’s clothes, investigating promptly the site of the facts, and ensuring the proper chain of custody;” and vi) “access to free legal assistance is provided to the victim during all stages of the proceedings.”330 235. For its part, the Inter-American Commission has identified the following omissions and irregularities that can also affect the investigation in cases such as this one: i) failure to collect evidence fundamental for duly resolving the facts, causing the case to stall due to lack of evidence; ii) authorities do not have protocols to deal with the complexity of the evidence in these cases or the minimum amount of evidence that needs to be collected to establish adequate evidentiary grounds; iii) the delay in the collection of evidence following the attack and the key challenges involved as a result of the difficulty in obtaining certain evidence that is lost with the passage of time; iv) incomplete collection and processing of the evidence; v) lack of trained, specialized personal to collect the evidence and prepare the necessary expert reports for these cases; and vi) the failure to incorporate evidence offered by the victims or the families of the victims into the case files331 325 United Nations, Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Istanbul Protocol, December 2001. 326 World Health Organization, Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence, Geneva, 2003. 327 The Court has indicated that with the victim’s consent, her statement must also include: (i) the date, time and location of the assault, including a description of the type of surface on which it occurred; (ii) the name, identity and number of assailants; (iii) the nature of the physical contacts perpetrated; (iv) whether weapons or restraints were used; (v) use of medication, drugs, alcohol or other substances; (vi) how clothing was removed, if applicable; (vii) details of actual or attempted sexual activity against the presumed victim; (viii) whether condoms or lubricants were used; (ix) whether there were any subsequent activities by the patient that could alter evidence, and (x) details of any symptoms that the presumed victim has developed since that time. See: Inter-American Court, Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 20, 2014. Series C No. 289, para. 249, citing World Health Organization, Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence, Geneva, 2003, inter alia, pgs. 36 and 37. 328 The Inter-American Court indicated in the case of Espinoza González that “the State is obliged to provide, with the consent of the victims, treatment for the consequences to their health of the sexual violence, including the possibility of access to prophylactic treatment and treatment to prevent pregnancy.” See: Inter-American Court, Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 20, 2014. Series C No. 289, footnote 408, citing, among others, World Health Organization, Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence, Geneva, 2003, inter alia, pg. 63. 329 In this regard, the Court has specified that “this appraisal must be performed in keeping with protocols designed specifically for documenting evidence in cases of gender-based violence.” See: Inter-American Court, Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 20, 2014. Series C No. 289, para. 252, citing World Health Organization, Guidelines for medico-legal care for victims of sexual violence, Geneva, 2003, inter alia, pgs. 28 and 29. Also regarding cases that include allegations of alleged torture or abuse, the Inter-American Court has established that “the time that has passed before the corresponding medical appraisals are made is determinant in order to conclude without doubt the existence of the harm, especially when there are no witnesses other than the perpetrators and the victims themselves and, consequently, the evidence may be very limited;” Inter-American Court, Case of J. v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 27, 2013. Series C No. 275, para. 333. 330 Inter-American Court, Case of J. v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of November 27, 2013. Series C No. 275, para. 344; Inter-American Court. Case of Fernández Ortega et al. v. Mexico. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations and Costs. Judgment of August 30, 2010. Series C No. 215, para. 194. 331 IACHR, Access to Justice for Women who are Victims of Violence in the Americas. OEA/SER.L/V/II. Doc. 68. January 20, 2007, paras. 136-140. Also see: United Nations. Second Report of the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, Manfred Nowak, before the Human Rights Council. A/HRC/7/3. January 15, 2008, para. 61-62.