Sexual Health, Human Rights and the Law
2015
This report from the World Health Organization reviews human rights laws at the international, regional, and national levels and examines how countries around the world support sexual health through the implementation of policy and other mechanisms. The importance of protecting the right to sexual health – which is defined today as the state of physical, emotional, mental, and social wellbeing in relation to sexuality – was highlighted during the HIV epidemic. Discrimination and inequality played a critical role in whether HIV positive individuals were able to realize their right to sexual health, as those perceived to have unacceptable sexual practices or characteristics suffered from marginalization and stigma. Ensuring laws integrate human rights standards can foster and promote sexual health across populations. According to the authors, legal protections should focus on the removal of legal and regulatory barriers to services; how services are provided; access to information and education; the decriminalization of access to services; gender identity and expression; and protections against sexual and sexuality-related violence.
Sexual Health, Human Rights and the Law
Source:
Sexual Health, Human Rights and the Law. World Health Organization 2015. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/175556.