Improvement of the situation of women and girls in rural areas A/RES/72/148 as addressing the need for accessible, affordable and quality childcare and care facilities in rural areas; (j) Promoting sustainable infrastructure, access to safe drinking water and sanitation and safe cooking and heating practices to improve the heal th and nutrition of rural women and girls; (k) Investing in and strengthening efforts to meet the basic needs of rural women, including needs relating to their food security and nutrition and that of their families, and to promote adequate standards of living for them, as well as decent conditions for work and improved access to local, regional and global markets through improved availability, access to and use of critical rural infrastructure, such as energy and transport, science and technology, local services, capacity-building and human resources development measures and the provision of a safe and reliable water supply and sanitation, nutritional programmes, affordable housing programmes, education and literacy programmes, social support measures and h ealth care, including HIV prevention, treatment, care, including psychosocial aspects, and support services; (l) Fully engaging men and boys, including community leaders, as strategic partners and allies in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls and eliminating all forms of discrimination and violence against them, including by working to counteract attitudes by which women and girls are regarded as subordinate to men and boys; (m) Eliminating all forms of violence against rural women and girls in public and private spaces through multisectoral and coordinated approaches to prevent and respond to violence against rural women and girls, to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators of violence against rural women and girls and end impunity, and to provide protection as well as equal access to comprehensive social, health and legal services for all victims and survivors to support their full recovery and reintegration into society, including by providing access to psychosocia l support and rehabilitation, and bearing in mind the importance of all women and girls living free from violence, such as gender-related killings, including femicide, and harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutil ation, as well as of addressing the structural and underlying causes of violence against women and girls through enhanced prevention measures, research and strengthened coordination and monitoring and evaluation, by, inter alia, encouraging awareness raising activities; (n) Designing and implementing national policies and legal frameworks that promote and protect the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms by rural women and girls, and creating an environment that does not tolerate violations or abuses of their rights, including domestic violence, sexual violence and all other forms of gender-based violence and discrimination; (o) Ensuring that the rights of older women in rural areas are taken into account with regard to their equal access to basic social services, appropriate social protection and/or social security measures, equal access to and control of economic resources and their empowerment through access to financial and infrastructure services, with special focus on the provision of support to older women, including indigenous women, who often have access to few resources and are often more vulnerable; (p) Valuing and supporting the critical role and contribution of rural women, including indigenous women in rural areas, in the conservation and sustainable use of traditional crops and biodiversity for present and future generations as an essential contribution to food security and nutrition; 17-22936 5/9