81 (supra para. 179). In other words, the body of Gladys Espinoza, as a woman, was used in order to obtain information from her partner and to humiliate and intimidate both of them. These acts confirm that the State agents used sexual violence and the threat of sexual violence against Gladys Carol Espinoza Gonzáles as a strategy in the fight against the said subversive group. Consequently, the Court decides that subjecting Ms. Espinoza to this generalized practice constituted discrimination owing to her condition as a woman, in violation of Article 1(1) of the American Convention to her detriment, in relation to the rights to personal integrity and to honor and dignity established in Articles 5(1), 5(2) and 11 of this instrument, and to the obligations established in Articles 1 and 6 of the Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture. VIII.4. RIGHTS TO JUDICIAL GUARANTEES AND TO JUDICIAL PROTECTION 230. In this chapter, the Court will examine the alleged violation of the rights to judicial guarantees 386 and to judicial protection 387 to the detriment of Gladys Espinoza, due to the supposed failure of the State to conduct a diligent investigation into the acts of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of which she was a victim in 1993 on the premises of the DIVISE and the DINCOTE, and in 1999 in the Yanamayo Prison. A) Arguments of the Commission and of the parties 231. The Commission argued that the absence of an investigation into the torture and cruel and inhuman treatments suffered by Gladys Espinoza and the impunity in which the facts remain, despite the State’s awareness of them, constitute a violation of Articles 8(1) and 25(1) of the American Convention, and of Articles 1, 6 and 8 of the ICPPT. In addition, the Commission asserted that the medical examinations performed on the presumed victim in 1993 “were not aimed at establishing the possible causes of the bodily injuries found on the victim.” 388 Furthermore, it underscored that the conclusions of the National Terrorism Chamber and of the Supreme Court of Justice that disputed the occurrence of torture in this case did not constitute “a criminal investigation designed to cast light on the acts of violence against Gladys Carol Espinoza, to identify and punish those responsible, and to order the corresponding reparations.” In its final oral observations, the Commission affirmed that the State had failed to comply with its obligation to investigate for almost 20 years, because it was not until 2012 that it opened an investigation into the facts. 389 232. The Commission also argued that the State was responsible for the violation of Article 7 of the Convention of Belém do Pará to the detriment of Gladys Espinoza, because the presumed failure of the Peruvian authorities to investigate the complaints filed in her favor encouraged a climate of impunity in this and other cases of torture, rape and other forms of violence against 386 Article 8(1) of the American Convention establishes that: “[e]very person has the right to a hearing, with due guarantees and within a reasonable time, by a competent, independent, and impartial tribunal, previously established by law, in the substantiation of any accusation of a criminal nature made against him or for the determination of his rights and obligations of a civil, labor, fiscal, or any other nature.” 387 Article 25(1) of the American Convention stipulates that: “[e]veryone has the right to simple and prompt recourse, or any other effective recourse, to a competent court or tribunal for protection against acts that violate his fundamental rights recognized by the constitution or laws of the state concerned or by this Convention, even though such violation may have been committed by persons acting in the course of their official duties.” 388 According to the Commission, they lack essential information; they were prepared by PNP officials when the presumed victim was in the custody of agents of the same institution and, in some cases, “they did not even contain a conclusion or diagnosis.” 389 In this regard, it affirmed that “the State must take into account the passage of time for the investigation to be truly effective,” and that it must include the facts of this case, the adoption of all the necessary measures in order to identify all those responsible, to avoid the re-victimization of Gladys Carol Espinoza, and to provide immediate inter-disciplinary medical and psychological treatment immediately, taking into account the particularities of the harm suffered in the context of the armed conflict.