A/HRC/21/42 during her mission to Slovenia (A/HRC/18/33/Add.2, paras. 33-36). This situation highlights one of the insidious qualities of stigma: it has a self-fulfilling and circular nature. Roma are stereotyped as being ―dirty‖, ―smelly‖ and ―unclean‖ while being denied access to water and sanitation. Sometimes, well-meant interventions can reinforce their stigmatization. Reportedly, some municipalities in Eastern Europe have implemented shower programmes in schools, encouraging Roma children to take a shower before entering the classroom—with the unintended effect of identifying them as being too ―dirty‖ to receive education and as such further entrenching their stigmatization. 13 32. Similarly, caste systems are closely related to stigma and patterns of human rights violations. Caste systems across the world are deeply rooted in social segregation, based on ideas of purity and pollution and lending traditional ―legitimacy‖ to discrimination. The International Dalit Solidarity Network underlines that Dalits ―are considered ‗lesser human beings‘, ‗impure‘ and ‗polluting‘ to other caste groups. They are known to be ‗untouchable‘ and subjected to so-called ‗untouchability practices‘ in both public and private spheres‖.14 In terms of water and sanitation provision, Dalit habitations are often systematically excluded (A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, para. 76). 33. Dalits are regularly forced into the most menial, socially degrading, dirty and hazardous jobs. Some Dalits, in particular women, work as manual scavengers or sweepers; the terminology varies across countries, but generally refers to those who clean faeces from dry toilets.15 As a result of their direct contact with human faeces, manual scavengers suffer from a range of health problems (A/HRC/15/55 and Corr.1, para. 75) that are for the most part left untreated and add further to their stigmatization. Manual scavengers and sweepers suffer extreme forms of social exclusion, even within their own caste. These practices are not only deeply rooted in society, but also institutionalized through State practice, with municipalities themselves employing sweepers (ibid.). Moreover, patterns of stigmatization are perpetuated in schools, being reflected in the nature of cleaning duties, namely, through the assignment of toilet cleaning to the ―lower‖ castes.16 Instead of breaking caste barriers, teachers perpetuate stigmatization, limiting the rights of young people to be free from discrimination and to access education. 34. All over the world, toilets are associated with dirt, disease and disgust, and an occupation in this field correlates with lower social status. Sanitation workers are often insulted and attacked when carrying out their work and in some places are forced to work at night to conceal the nature of their tasks. Although sanitation workers in developed countries do not perform unhygienic work to the same extent, benefiting from protective gear and advanced sanitation systems, they also often face disrespect and rejection. 17 Undocumented migrant workers often carry out jobs that no one else wants to do, such as sanitation work, and may lack the protections that apply to the working conditions of the formal work force. 35. People living in poverty, homeless persons, pavement dwellers, street children and slum dwellers also face stigmatization and are frequently forced to exist at the margins of society. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has found that a person‘s 13 14 15 16 17 François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University, ―Water and stigma: school shower programs for Roma children in Eastern and Central Europe‖, submission to the Special Rapporteur, first page. International Dalit Solidarity Network, Annual Report 2010, p. 5. See, for example, ―India‘s manual scavengers: clean up‖, The Economist, 10 July 2008. UNICEF, Equity in School Water and Sanitation (note 9 above), pp. 20 ff. See WASH United, ―Stigmatization in the realisation of the right to water and sanitation‖, submission to the Special Rapporteur. 9