Sexual and reproductive health and rights

Sexual and reproductive health and rights or SRHR is the concept of human rights applied to sexuality and reproduction. It is the recognition of every person’s right to make fully informed and self-determined decisions about their sexual participation, such as contraception use, sexual partners, and access to sexual health information and services, without discrimination, violence, and/or coercion. SRHR encompasses a combination of four distinct yet interconnected fields, which may exhibit varying degrees of distinction depending on the specific context. These four fields include sexual health, sexual rights, reproductive health and reproductive rights. In the broad concept of SRHR, these four fields are treated as separate, but are inherently intertwined.

Distinctions between these four fields are not always made. Sexual health and reproductive health are sometimes treated as synonymous to each other, as are sexual rights and reproductive rights. In some cases, sexual rights are included in the term sexual health, or vice versa. Not only do different non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and governments organisations use different terminologies, but different terminologies are often used within the same organization.

Some of the notable global NGOs that fight for sexual and reproductive health and rights include IPPF (International Planned Parenthood Federation), ILGA (International Lesbian and Gay Alliance), WAS (World Association for Sexual Health - formerly known as World Association for Sexology), the Center for Health and Gender Equity, and International HIV/AIDS Alliance.