A/HRC/32/44 periods; and excluding coverage for termination of pregnancy services under health insurance. None of these requirements is justified on health grounds. 83. International and regional human rights bodies have called on States to decriminalize access to termination of pregnancy and to liberalize laws and policies in order to guarantee women’s access to safe services. Treaty bodies, including the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women and the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, have requested States, through their jurisprudence, their general comments/recommendations and their concluding observations, to review national legislation with a view to decriminalizing termination of pregnancy and to ensure a woman’s right to termination of pregnancy where there is a threat to her life or health, or where the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest. The Committee against Torture and the Human Rights Committee have determined that, in some cases, being forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy to term amounts to cruel and inhuman treatment. Criminalization of women who engage in prostitution/sex work 84. Criminal laws and other punitive regulations have imposed custodial sentences on women involved in prostitution/sex work in a manner that has been shown to harm rather than protect them. The Working Group considers that the criminalization of women in prostitution/sex work places them in a situation of injustice, vulnerability and stigma and is contrary to international human rights law. It notes that the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women calls for prohibition of the exploitation of prostitution and not for punishment of the women in prostitution/sex work themselves; the well-established position of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women that women should not be criminalized for prostitution; and the stipulation in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (Palermo Protocol) that efforts should be made to discourage the demand that fosters all forms of exploitation of women, including trafficking for sexual exploitation. 85. International organizations and human rights bodies have called on States to ensure, at a minimum, that women in prostitution/sex workers have the right to access sexual health services; are free from violence or discrimination, whether committed by State agents or private persons; and have access to equal protection of the law. In particular, States should also ensure that law enforcement officials serve a protective function, as opposed to engaging in or perpetuating violence against women in prostitution/sex workers. A number of States have introduced regulations that cover health and safety issues, including access to health services, medical insurance and social security benefits that have had a positive impact on women engaged in prostitution/sex work. E. 1. Autonomous, affordable and effective access to health care Autonomous access 86. Autonomous access to health care means ensuring a woman’s right to make decisions concerning her health, fertility and sexuality free of coercion and violence. Key to this is the notion of choice. The rights to informed consent and confidentiality are crucial to ensuring that women can make decisions freely. These rights impose corresponding duties upon health-care providers, who are bound to disclose information about proposed treatments and alternatives in order to aid informed consent and to respect the right to refuse treatment; likewise, they are bound to maintain confidentiality to allow women to make private decisions without the interference of others whom they have not chosen to consult and who might not have their best interests at heart. Autonomy means that a woman seeking services in relation to her health, fertility or sexuality is entitled to be treated as an 16