A/HRC/33/49 Some States have adopted legislation in which equality requires a ratio of two women’s cubicles for every cubicle provided for men. 50 48. Standards in regulations and building codes should include special needs for women and girls, and must be developed for schools, hospitals, the workplace, market places, places of detention and public transport hubs and public institutions, among other places. Standards should consider general menstrual hygiene needs, but also who the users are likely to be. Standards must subsequently be implemented, put in practice and accordingly be enforced at all levels. Everyone should be able to use the toilet corresponding to the person’s gender identity and States must pay attention to the special needs of more vulnerable persons, including those with disabilities and the elderly. 49. The sanitation and menstrual hygiene needs of homeless women and girls are almost universally unmet and the needs of that group are rarely reflected in water and sanitation policies. Human rights law demands that States place a particular focus on the needs of the most marginalized; hence, States should ensure that homeless women and girls have access to facilities. 50. States must also ensure that schools have the necessary infrastructure for girls and female teachers to manage their menstruation. Some Governments provide menstrual hygiene products for free to girls in public schools. 51 It is important that such products also be provided for free in informal schools, as the students in those schools are among the least able to afford them. Facilities must furthermore be acceptable to all users, and students should be able to freely use the toilet with which they feel most comfortable. 51. Pregnant women and women that have recently given birth and are still recovering from complications arising from labour are particularly vulnerable to the risk of infection related to a lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene. 52 The Special Rapporteur’s recent country visit to Tajikistan revealed the absence of a running water supply and adequate sanitation facilities in hospitals in the country. 53 In addition, the Special Rappporteur testified, during his visit to Botswana, that a clinic situated in an area facing serious drought was still going through a procurement process to buy a water tank.54 In such critical places, where the most vulnerable persons are treated, measures must be upheld in contingency plans and implemented in advance. States must prioritize the provision to health centres of adequate water, hygiene and sanitation facilities, with the necessary budget allocations. 52. Adequate water and sanitation services, including menstrual hygiene facilities, must be accessible in the workplace, without hindrance, for all employees, in a manner that corresponds with their gender identity. The Special Rapporteur has noted that there is an urgent need to recognize and address the currently neglected lack of facilities that allow for adequate sanitation and menstrual hygiene management for women and girls in the workplace. Women and girls risk their health or miss out on workdays when such facilities are lacking. For example, 60 per cent of all women working in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia work in the agriculture sector and their workplace often does not include facilities that would allow them to manage their sanitation and menstruation, or those 50 51 52 53 54 14 See, for example, the “potty parity laws” in the United States mentioned in “Having to go: halting stations for women” (12 April 2012), available from http://womenshistorynetwork.org/blog/?p=1140. For example, the Kenya Environmental Sanitation and Hygiene Policy 2016-2030, pp. 39-40. http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Briefing%20Note%203.pdf (accessed 14-72016). A/HRC/33/49/Add.2. A/HRC/33/49/Add.3.