A/HRC/43/58 antibiotics. She stated that she bought medicines, including some that were provided by the United Nations as humanitarian assistance, in informal markets or factories and distributed them to retailers in different regions. Rights to water and sanitation 33. The human right to safe drinking water entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have access to sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic use. The human right to sanitation entitles everyone, without discrimination, to have physical and affordable access to sanitation, in all spheres of life, that is safe, hygienic, secure, socially and culturally acceptable and that provides privacy and ensures dignity.43 In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, it is estimated that 46 per cent of those in rural areas do not have access to a safe or adequate water source.44 Escapees from rural areas have recounted collecting water from rivers. Collecting water is an additional burden on women, and contaminated water can cause diarrhoea, including among small children, with the burden then falling on women to care for them and arrange medical treatment. The lack of access to safe and adequate water, sanitation and hygiene also creates challenges for menstrual hygiene management for women. A pack of sanitary pads reportedly costs more than 5,000 won ($5.6), and most women use pieces of cloth as an alternative. Education on menstruation is insufficient, and both women’s and men’s understanding of menstruation is limited. According to a study, women perceived menstruation as shameful and embarrassing45 and a source of stigma. For example, if a car had a flat tyre, a North Korean man might say “Who is on her period?”. D. Violence against women 34. Accounts from escapees indicate that domestic violence is widespread and that economic hardship, drug abuse and patriarchal attitudes contribute to domestic violence. Victims do not have access to protection mechanisms where they can report such violence and seek protection. One female escapee stated that the police took action only when domestic violence led to the death of the victim. The Family Law provides for divorce when the couple can no longer maintain marital relations for various reasons, including when a spouse betrays the partner, undermining the love and the trust between the two. Divorce is rare, and requires a court ruling.46 35. Women who engage in financial activities are vulnerable to sexual exploitation. In some cases, local officials and market managers ask for bribes or sexual favours in return for allowing women to trade in the market. An increasing number of women travel between different cities, often without official permission, to buy and sell products for trading. According to some personal accounts, this leaves women vulnerable to sexual exploitation at train stations where local officials may allow unauthorized travel in exchange for sexual favours or bribes.47 Crowded railway carriages and lack of proper accommodation during travel also leaves women vulnerable to sexual violence while travelling. In 2017, the Government reported to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that sexual exploitation of women was in no way a social problem in the country.48 The Committee expressed its concern that the Law on the Protection and Promotion of the Rights of Women and the Family Law focus on reconciliation rather than the prosecution of 43 44 45 46 47 48 12 General Assembly resolution 70/169 of 17 December 2015, para. 2. 2017 MICS. Database Centre for North Korean Human Rights, “Periods are a Shameful Thing in North Korea”: the State of Menstrual Health of North Korean Women, 2018, p. 43. In 2016, there were 2,000 divorce cases in a population of 25.3 million. See responses by the delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women: www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/Display News.aspx?NewsID=22373&LangID=E. Human Rights Watch, “You Cry At Night but Don’t Know Why: Sexual Violence Against Women in North Korea”, (2018). CEDAW/C/PRK/2-4, para. 70.