A/HRC/42/47/Add.1 15.9 per cent, in the period before and during the El Niño phenomenon in 2015–2016.19 The lack of access to water fuelled gender-based violence, particularly in rural communities, and by extension was connected to a chain of events, including child marriages, as part of coping strategies in the face of the drought. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the concern raised by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its concluding observations at the risk of physical and sexual violence that children, and girls in particular, are exposed to when collecting water, bathing or using toilets at night (CRC/C/LSO/CO/2, para. 30). 3. Educational institutions 41. Educational institutions include not only primary and high schools, namely institutions recognized by the Government, but also other forms of educational institution. Before starting primary education, children receive early childhood education in day-care centres and preschools, particularly when both parents are required to work. For those parents who cannot afford to pay tuition and have to resort to the cheapest option, it might mean a day-care centre with no running water and children wearing the same diaper throughout the day. Some of the centres are not officially registered and do not operate in a regulated venue designed for the purpose. Hence, it is often the case that unregulated daycare centres are without proper access to water and toilets. 42. Preschools are also outside the government purview and access to water and sanitation remains the responsibility of teachers or parents. In one preschool the Special Rapporteur visited in Quthing, the children defecated in the open on a row of four bricks that seemed to indicate the location of the toilet. In the same preschool, which was located in a village supplied with water standpipes, teachers had established a “tippy-tap” system for the children to wash their hands. Toilet manners are established early in a child’s life and it is imperative that preschool children do not adopt the habit of defecating in the open, a habit that frames adult life. 43. The situation of water and sanitation services in primary and high schools that are regulated by the Government are also in need of improvement. The Special Rapporteur visited one primary school near the Katse Dam area, which was simply a tent in the middle of a field with no water or toilets at all. Approximately 30 students used the open field to urinate and defecate and 1 student told the Special Rapporteur: “people laugh at me when I go in the field”. In other schools in the urban areas connected to the central piped system, the Special Rapporteur observed that schools had access to water and ventilated improved pit latrines. However, he observed that a sufficient quantity of water was not available, particularly in one boarding school, where girls were allowed to take a bath daily but use only 1.7 litres of water. 44. The level of access to water and sanitation in educational facilities, particularly in the rural areas, are either at par or lower than the level of the facilities in the local community. When a rural community has access to proper water sources, the schools also benefit from those sources. However, as there is an unclear attribution of roles between the Department of Rural Water Supply of the Ministry of Water and the Ministry of Education as to the specific responsibility for water supply and sanitation in rural schools, there is a gap that results in poor coverage of services for those schools. 4. Sanitation and hygiene 45. Water and sanitation go hand in hand, and the rights to water and sanitation are distinct but interrelated rights. The Special Rapporteur observed that where water and toilet provisions were adequate, hygiene lagged behind. Sanitation facilities include toilets and pit latrines but also facilities meeting hygiene requirements, such as the availability of soaps and other hygienic products. These are requirements, particularly for hand-washing, menstrual hygiene, the management of children’s faeces and the preparation and consumption of food and drink. They are crucial elements for health protection and for ensuring dignity for women and girls. 19 10 See UNFPA, “Baseline Study on El-Nino linked gender-based violence in the ten districts of Lesotho” (2016).