Sexual and reproductive health and rights, or SRHR, are human rights applied to sexuality and reproduction. It is a combination of four fields that, in some contexts, are more or less distinct from each other but less so or not at all in other contexts. These four fields are sexual health, sexual rights, reproductive health, and reproductive rights. In the concept of SRHR, these four fields are treated as separate but inherently intertwined.

Health

The definition of health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity. Reproductive health or sexual health/hygiene addresses the reproductive processes, functions, and systems at all stages of life.

Sexual Health

Sexual health is a state of physical, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality. It requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination, and violence.

Reproductive Health

Reproductive health, therefore, implies that people are able to have a responsible, satisfying, and safer sex life, and that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to decide if, when, and how often to do so. One interpretation of this implies that men and women ought to be informed of and have access to safe, effective, affordable, and acceptable methods of birth control. Also, access to appropriate health care services in sexual, reproductive medicine, and the implementation of health education programs to stress the importance of women going safely through pregnancy and childbirth could provide couples with the best chance of having a healthy infant. On the other hand, individuals do face inequalities in reproductive health services. Inequalities vary based on socioeconomic status, education level, age, ethnicity, religion, and resources available in their environment. It is possible, for example, that low-income individuals lack the resources for appropriate health services and the knowledge to know what is appropriate for maintaining reproductive health.

Rights

Human rights include the right of women to freely and without coercion, violence, or discrimination, to have control over and make decisions concerning their own sexuality, including their sexual and reproductive health.

Sexual Rights

At the 14th World Congress of Sexology (Hong Kong, 1999), the WAS adopted the Declaration of Sexual Rights, which originally included 11 sexual rights. It was heavily revised and expanded in March 2014 by the WAS Advisory Council to include 16 sexual rights. They are:

  1. The right to equality and non-discrimination
  2. The right to life, liberty, and security of the person
  3. The right to autonomy and bodily integrity
  4. The right to be free from torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment
  5. The right to be free from all forms of violence and coercion
  6. The right to privacy
  7. The right to the highest attainable standard of health, including sexual health; with the possibility of pleasurable, satisfying, and safe sexual experiences
  8. The right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress and its application
  9. The right to information
  10. The right to education and the right to comprehensive sexuality education
  11. The right to enter, form, and dissolve marriage and similar types of relationships based on equality and full and free consent
  12. The right to decide whether to have children, the number and spacing of children, and to have the information and means to do so
  13. The right to the freedom of thought, opinion, and expression
  14. The right to freedom of association and peaceful assembly
  15. The right to participation in public and political life
  16. The right to access to justice, remedies, and redress

Reproductive Rights

Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as “Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing, and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health.” They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion, and violence.

Goals and Targets

Special goals and targets were also created to address adolescent sexual and reproductive health needs. Adolescents are often the most vulnerable to risks associated with sexual activity, including HIV, due to personal and social issues such as feelings of isolation, child marriage, and stigmatization. Governments realized the importance of investing in the health of adolescents as a means of establishing future well-being for their societies. As a result, the Commission on Population and Development developed a series of fundamental rights for adolescents, including the right to comprehensive sex education, the right to decide all matters related to their sexuality, and access to sexual and reproductive health services without discrimination (including safe abortions wherever legal).