A/HRC/32/44 control. This can include punitive provisions in criminal, civil and administrative laws and regulations governing extramarital consensual sex, same-sex consensual adult relations, gender non-conforming expressions, provision of reproductive and sexual education and information, termination of pregnancy and prostitution/sex work. The enforcement of such provisions generates stigma and discrimination and violates women’s human rights. It infringes women’s dignity and bodily integrity by restricting their autonomy to make decisions about their own lives and health. 77. States also violate women’s right to health and safety where women are penalized for sexual or reproductive conduct that should not be criminally prohibited, such as adultery, prostitution or termination of pregnancy; States also violate the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment where they impose penalties such as stoning and lashing. 78. Criminalization of behaviour that is attributed only to women is discriminatory per se and generates and perpetuates stigma. The threat of criminal punishment restricts women’s access to sexual and reproductive health-care services and information and acts as a deterrent to health-care professionals, thus barring women’s and girls’ access to healthcare services. Criminalizing and restricting the provision of and access to safe, legal services for termination of pregnancy 79. Criminalization of termination of pregnancy is one of the most damaging ways of instrumentalizing and politicizing women’s bodies and lives, subjecting them to risks to their lives or health in order to preserve their function as reproductive agents and depriving them of autonomy in decision-making about their own bodies. Restrictive laws apply to 40 per cent of women worldwide. In some countries, as a result of retrogressive anti-abortion laws, women are imprisoned for having had a miscarriage, imposing an intolerable cost on the women, their families and their societies. 80. As demonstrated by WHO data, criminalizing termination of pregnancy does not reduce the need for it. Rather, it is likely to increase the number of women seeking clandestine and unsafe solutions. Countries in Northern Europe, where women gained the right to termination of pregnancy in the 1970s or 1980s and are provided with access to information and to all methods of contraception, have the lowest rates of termination of pregnancy. Ultimately, criminalization does grave harm to women’s health and human rights by stigmatizing a safe and needed medical procedure. In countries where induced termination of pregnancy is restricted by law and/or otherwise unavailable, safe termination of pregnancy is a privilege of the rich, while women with limited resources have little choice but to resort to unsafe providers and practices. This results in severe discrimination against economically disadvantaged women, which the Working Group has highlighted during its country visits. 81. It is important to recall that the use of effective contraception can result in lowering the incidence of unintended pregnancy. However, contraception cannot eliminate women’s need for access to termination of pregnancy, for example in the case of rape. In addition, no method of contraception is 100 per cent effective in preventing pregnancy. 82. In addition, restrictions on access to information on termination of pregnancy and services can deter women from seeking professional medical attention, with detrimental consequences for their health and safety. Examples of restrictions include criminalization of medical practitioners who provide these services; prohibiting access to information on legal termination of pregnancy; requiring third-party authorization from one or more medical professionals, a hospital committee, a parent, guardian or spouse; conscientious objection by health practitioners without provision of an alternative; requiring compulsory waiting 15