1. promoting the reproductive rights agenda and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so. In practice, this means that everyone should have access to contraception and to the necessary information on reproductive health issues. Contraception and the necessary information should also be available to marginalized groups, meaning that it should be available both in towns and in rural areas and for all women and men, adults and adolescents. Information should be available in all relevant languages and in age- and gender-appropriate forms. Marriage and childbearing are closely connected in most cultures. Consequently, the right to decide freely the number, spacing and timing of children also includes the right not to be married before reaching adulthood and the right not to be forced to marry. The proper legislation should be in place and implemented and necessary sensitization should take place. The second part of the definition guarantees the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. Sexual and reproductive health is concerned not only with issues related to child bearing but also securing a safe and satisfying sex life. The right to the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health contains the access to a comprehensive package of health services including voluntary family planning, abortion where it is not against the law, post abortion care, ante- and post-natal care, both for mother and for child, and to prevention and treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV/AIDS. As set out above, such services must be truly available to all, including marginalized and vulnerable groups who are also the groups most likely to have reproductive health threatened. Consequently, sexual and reproductive health services cannot be offered only in the main population centres but must be made available also in rural and underserved areas. The last part of the definition guarantees the right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence. In addition to what has already been set out, this means that persons with disabilities, ethnic minorities and other groups in situation of vulnerability or exclusion are entitled to the same sexual and reproductive health services as all other groups. In certain countries, persons with disabilities have been subject to sterilization without their free, prior and informed consent; the same has been the case for ethnic minorities. In many places, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons are not provided access to sexual and reproductive health services; this is clearly a manifestation of discrimination. The right not to be subject to harmful practices such as female genital mutilation (FGM), child, early or forced marriage is an additional protection against violence and coercion affecting the girl child. The state must ensure that no one is coerced into entering into marriage, bearing of children or sexual relations, including with their spouse. This for example necessitates implementing provisions on minimum age for marriage and criminalizing marital rape. Gender-based violence also has the potential to curtail the free choice of in particular women. Studies have shown a close link between domestic violence and lack of enjoyment of reproductive rights; this means that provisions should be in place to combat this scourge. See Chapter 2 for specific guidance on the role of NHRIs in furthering reproductive rights. 23