irregularities throughout the investigation, the State did not guarantee her rights to personal integrity, private life, dignity and autonomy. To the contrary, due to the manner in which the investigation was carried out and the subsequent impunity in which the case remains, the IACHR finds that there were further violations to V.R.P’s integrity, as confirmed by various medical and psychological examinations, as well as to her private life, dignity and autonomy. 129. The Commission highlights two facts that seriously affected the integrity and privacy of V.R.P. On one hand, the treatment by the attending physician taking the exam the girl, who uttered disparaging and violent statements against V.R.P. On the other hand, the revictimizing treatment to V.R.P during the reconstruction of the facts, where she was forced to be placed in the position in which the aggression occurred. 130. This is aggravated by V.R.P’s status as a minor at the time of the facts and throughout the investigation. As such, the Commission considers that the State did not comply with its obligation to guarantee the aforementioned substantive rights. Furthermore, the Commission considers that the State committed additional violations of these rights as a result of the manner in which the investigation was carried out. Consequently, the Commissions concludes that the State is also responsible for violating Articles 5.1, 11.2 and 19 of the American Convention in connection with Article 1.1 of the same instrument, to the detriment of V.R.P. 1.5.2. The principle of equality and non-discrimination 131. The Commission recalls that States must abstain from taking measures that, in any way, are directly or indirectly aimed at creating situations of discrimination de jure or de facto. 192 States are obliged to take affirmative action in order to reverse or change any discriminatory situations in their societies that prejudice a specific group of persons. This involves the special obligation of protection that the State must exercise with regard to the actions and practices of third parties who, with its tolerance or acquiescence, create, maintain or encourage discriminatory situations. 193 132. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women defines discrimination against women as “any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”194 133. The Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women has declared that the definition of discrimination against women “includes gender-based violence, that is, violence that is directed against a woman because i) she is a woman or ii) that affects women disproportionately.” It has also established that “gender-based violence is a form of discrimination that seriously inhibits women’s ability to enjoy rights and freedoms on a basis of equality with men.”195 Within the Inter-American System, the preamble of the Convention of Belém do Pará establishes that violence against women is a “manifestation of the historically unequal power relations between men and women” and recognizes that every woman’s right to a life free from violence includes the right to be free from all forms of discrimination. 192 Inter-American Court. Case of Espinoza Gonzáles v. Peru. Preliminary Objections, Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of November 20, 2014. Series C No. 289, par. 220. 193 Inter-American Court. Case of Norín Catrimán and Others (Leaders, Members, and Activists of the Mapuche Indigenous People v. Chile. Merits, Reparations, and Costs. Judgment of May 29, 2014. Series C No. 279, par. 201. 194 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Violence Against Women, December 18, 1979, Article 1. UN, Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, General Observation No. 19: Violence Against Women, 1992, par. 1 and 6. 195