48 252. At the international level, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia held that “there can be no doubt that rape and other forms of sexual assault are expressly prohibited 273 under international law” . Some years later, the Appeals Chamber of that Tribunal ruled that, to find that the crime of torture has been committed, it is sufficient to establish that the perpetrator intended to act in a way which, in the normal course of events, would cause severe pain or suffering, whether physical or 274 mental, to his victims, even if his motivation was entirely sexual. 253. In the inter-American system, the Commission has determined that for torture to exist in cases of sexual violation, three elements must be present: “(i) it must be an intentional act through which physical and mental pain and suffering is inflicted on a person; (ii) it must be committed with a purpose; and (iii) it must be committed by a public official or by a private person acting at the instigation of the 275 former” . The IACHR has also stressed the physical and mental suffering inherent in rape and how it can be used as a method of psychological torture because its objective, in many cases, is to humiliate not 276 only the victim but also her family or her community . The Commission has declared that: Rape causes physical and mental suffering in the victim (...). The fact of being made the subject of abuse of this nature also causes a psychological trauma that results, on the one hand, from having been humiliated and victimized, and on the other, from suffering the condemnation of the members 277 of their community if they report what has been done to them. 254. The Inter-American Court has ruled that acts of sexual violence against female detainees 278 constitute torture . In its analysis, the Court found explicitly that the women were under the complete 279 control of State agents, and absolutely defenseless. 255. On the basis of evolving international and regional standards, the Commission considers, 280 as it has considered in other cases , that rape by a State official always results in intimidation, humiliation or coercion of the victim, among other prohibited intents and purposes identified under the 281 international standards relating to torture . This is due to the severe and lasting physical and mental suffering inherent in all acts of sexual violence, because of their nonconsensual and invasive nature and their impact on the victim, her family and her community. This situation is made worse when the perpetrator is a State official, because of the physical and psychological power that the aggressor can exercise abusively over the victim through his position of authority. 256. In the present case, the Commission has demonstrated that in El Mozote many of the young women, before being executed, were taken to the outskirts of the village, specifically to the El 273 ICTY. Celebici Case Nº IT-96-21 T, Ruling, para. 476, November 16, 1998. Taken from Louis Henkin et al, Human Rights. Foundation Press, New York, 1999, pages 380 and 381 274 ICTY. Appeals Chamber, Prosecutor v. Kunarac, Kovak and Vukovic, Judgment of 12 June 2002, Para. 153. 275 IACHR, Report No. 5/96, Raquel Martín http://www.IACHR.oas.org/annualrep/95span/cap.III.peru10.970.htm. Mejía, Case 10.970, 1 March 1996. At: 276 IACHR, Report No. 5/96, Raquel Martín Mejía, Case 10.970, 1 March 1996. IACHR, Report on the Merits, No. 53/01, Ana, Beatriz and Cecilia González Pérez (Mexico). At: http://www.IACHR.oas.org/annualrep/2000sp/CapituloIII/Merits/Mexico11.565.htm 277 IACHR, Report No. 5/96, Raquel Martín Mejía, Case 10.970, 1 March 1996. 278 I-A Court. Penal Miguel Castro Castro vs. Perú. Judgment of 25 November 2006. Series C No. 160, Para. 312 279 Ibid., Para. 307. 280 IACHR, Petition, Case 12.579 Valentina Rosendo Cantú vs. Mexico, at http://www.IACHR.oas.org/demandas/12.579%20Valentina%20Rosendo%20Cantu%20Mexico%202ago09.pdf and IACHR, petition, Case 12.580 Inés Fernández Ortega vs. Mexico, at http://www.IACHR.oas.org/demandas/12.580%20Ines%20Fernandez%20Ortega%20Mexico%207mayo09.pdf. 281 Ibid.