consequences of these laws or policies are actually equal for all persons. According to the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, violence against women is a form of discrimination against women. States must take action to redress violence against women and ensure that there are sensitive counselling services available for the survivors of gender-based violence, including rape and incest. As it has been explained above, violence against women directly affects women’s reproductive rights and their right to sexual health. Furthermore, states should ensure that adolescents are not discriminated against but are able to receive information, including on family planning and contraceptives, the dangers of early pregnancy and the prevention of sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS, as well as appropriate services for sexual and reproductive health.4 Adolescents should not be discriminated against due to their young age; on the contrary, they have to be placed at the centre of policies and laws dealing with reproductive matters. It is a fundamental role for a NHRI to monitor that a state does not discriminate with respect to the protection of reproductive rights and to provide relevant input in this respect when the state develops and implements its policies. 4 Paul Hunt and Judith Bueno de Mesquita. The Rights to Sexual and Reproductive Health. University of Essex, Human Rights Centre. 79