A/HRC/12/24 page 17 J. Equality of women and men 51. The disproportionate impact of lack of access to sanitation on girls and women has been well researched. Girls often drop out of school when their menstruation begins since schools frequently lack “girls only” or otherwise appropriate sanitation facilities. When relatives become sick from sanitation-related diseases, women and girls often stay home to care for them, missing work and school. Furthermore, women and girls face security risks when they are forced to relieve themselves or to defecate in the open, or walk to toilets in the dark. Because of widespread discrimination against women, they are not included in the formulation of relevant policies and, therefore, their needs tend to be neglected. 52. Most core human rights articles prohibit discrimination based on sex. Thus, all rights related to sanitation must be guaranteed without discrimination based on sex. As already mentioned above, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women specifically refers to sanitation with regard to rural women and the Committee overseeing that treaty has regularly addressed the issue of sanitation in its concluding observations.70 The Special Rapporteurs on torture and on the right to education have also specifically referred to the sanitary needs of menstruating women.71 K. Prohibition of discrimination 53. More broadly, discrimination and exclusion play a significant role with regard to access to sanitation. It is often the poorest and the most marginalized groups who lack access to sanitation. According to UNDP, the majority of people without access to sanitation live on less than 2 United States dollars a day.72 Minority groups, migrants, indigenous peoples, refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs), prisoners and detainees, and persons with disabilities also suffer discrimination which may affect their access to sanitation. Sanitation workers face particular stigmatization for having a job which is perceived as “unclean” or lowly. Such groups often have little influence on policy formulation and resource allocation at the national and local levels, making it difficult for them to improve their access to sanitation. 54. The International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, in their articles 2, both provide that the rights contained in those Covenants should be enjoyed without discrimination. Article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil and 69 See for example, article 85 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, 1949, 75 UNTS 287. Adopted on 12 August 1949 and entered into force on 21 October 1950. 70 See e.g. CEDAW/C/THA/CO/5 (Thailand), para. 33; CEDAW/C/SUR/CO/3 (Suriname, 2007), para. 31; A/60/38(SUPP) (Gabon), para. 247; A/60/38(SUPP) (Israel), para. 259 bis; and CEDAW/C/PAK/CO/3 (Pakistan), paras. 42-43. 71 A/HRC/7/3, para. 41; and E/CN.4/2006/45, paras. 129-130. 72 See the UNDP Human Development Report 2006, p. 49.