SRHR stands for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, but what does it actually mean?
1. Sexual health means sexual development free from illness and violence.
2. Sexual rights are the rights of all people to decide freely about their sexuality.
3. Reproductive health means physical, mental and social well-being in all matters related to human reproductive system.
4. Reproductive rights are the rights of people to decide freely about the number and spacing of their children.
In a world where sexual and reproductive health and rights are recognized and respected, people are free to choose partners, decide how many children to have and when, and to pursue healthy sexual lives without fear of unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
Although universal access to reproductive health was part of the Millennium Development Goals, that 189 United Nations Member States pledged to achieve by 2015, it has been under-prioritized.
Since then, the number of unintended pregnancies has been continually growing with more women dying from pregnancy - related causes and more infants being born with HIV/AIDS.
Today, we are standing at a pivotal moment, while 3000 delegates from all over the world gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to establish a new set of goals for the next 15 years and decide whether SRHR will become an important part of this new development framework. We, Global Citizens, want to make sure the global community of leaders realizes that:
- If we empower women and allow them to make their own decisions related to sexuality and reproduction, every pregnancy will be wanted.
- If we provide young people with age-appropriate sex education in schools, quality information about different methods of contraception, teenage pregnancies will be reduced.
- If we teach young people about what forms of sexuality without prejudice, promote respect, empathy and social inclusion, sexual violence will not exist.
We are calling on the global community to enact development strategies that will give women, men and young people control over their own bodies and therefore their destinies. We are asking for political commitments and financial support by governments across the board.
Reproductive health and sexual rights are an evolving set of entitlements, related to sexuality that contribute to the freedom, equality and dignity of all people. They cannot be ignored any longer.
Email your government now to ensure that reproductive health and family planning become priorities in the Post - 2015 Development agenda!