Gender equality

Sexual and reproductive rights

Sexual and reproductive rights are the part of Gender equality and human rights which was prominently requested for the first time as part of the second wave feminist movement.

Sexual (and reproductive) rights relate to the recognition of women and men as sexual beings with a right to the autonomous experiencing of their own sexuality but also to the recognition of the right of women and men to decide about the number and spacing of their children and to the protection of reproductive health.

Sexual and reproductive rights are related to the complex problems that restrict human rights.

The second wave of the feminist movement drew attention to the fact that women have the right to their own sexuality and that women are sexual beings.

This fact is mainly related to the aim of recognition of forced sexual intercourse in marriage as rape, banning of forced marriages, child marriages and child prostitution, forced pregnancy, protection against sexually transmitted diseases, genital mutilation of girls and women as a means of sexual abstinence and sexual "purity", etc.

Another area which is related to the right to decide about one´s own body and parenting, is the area of family planning and control of one´s own reproduction. It is the right to benefit from scientific progress - particularly in the area of maternity and pregnancy but also in terms of access to contraception. The role of reproductive rights is the right to access to safe abortion on the one hand, and the prohibition of forced sterilization on the other hand. An essential part of this agenda is the right of access to sex education.