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Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 68
- Paragraph text
- These examples reflect deep-seated bias towards men's sport, which diminishes the opportunities for women in sport at all levels. States and other actors must act to shift public consciousness away from a male-dominated sporting culture. States should review their laws, policies and programmes, and amend or repeal those that discriminate against women and girls and prevent them from participating in sport on an equal basis with men.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- States that implement and enforce criminal or other laws to restrict access to sexual and reproductive health information actively reduce access to information and therefore do not meet their obligation to respect the right to health. As a consequence of such laws and the stigma they generate, third parties, such as teachers, publishers, or booksellers may also deny women and girls access to necessary sexual and reproductive health materials. The obligation of States to fulfil the right to health requires that they develop strategies to ensure that comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information is provided to everyone, especially women and young girls.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 25
- Paragraph text
- The World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed that legal grounds largely shape the course for women with an unplanned pregnancy towards a safe or an unsafe abortion. As legal restrictions primarily influence whether abortion is safe or not, more unsafe abortions are likely to occur in legal regimes that are more restrictive of abortion. The rate of unsafe abortions and the ratio of unsafe to safe abortions both directly correlate to the degree to which abortion laws are restrictive and/or punitive. Unsafe abortions are estimated to account for nearly 13 per cent of all maternal deaths globally. A further 5 million women and girls suffer short- and long-term injuries due to unsafe abortions, including haemorrhage; sepsis; trauma to the vagina, uterus and abdominal organs; cervical tearing; peritonitis; reproductive tract infections; pelvic inflammatory disease and chronic pelvic pain; shock and infertility.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 48
- Paragraph text
- Conflict may also result in children adopting new roles and responsibilities, which may increase their vulnerability to sexual violence and exploitation. Health facilities in conflict often lack child-appropriate services for survivors of sexual violence, particularly for boys. Exposure to sexual violence increases the risk of further violations for girls. For example, marriage to the perpetrator is often seen as a means of "protecting a girl's honour". However, forcing survivors of sexual violence to marry their attackers re-victimizes them and results in the legitimization of the actions of the perpetrator and social acceptance of sexual violence (see A/66/657-S/2012/33).
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Violence
- Personnes concernées
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Année
- 2013
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 32
- Paragraph text
- While welcoming this important paradigm shift towards embracing the right to healthy development, the Special Rapporteur is concerned that in the draft sustainable development goals, and in other documents, there is a tendency to address human rights, including the human rights of children, selectively. For example, while welcoming the proposed goal 5.2 to "eliminate violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres", he wishes to highlight that no form of violence against children, including boys, should be accepted.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2015
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 46
- Paragraph text
- Equally, such environments exacerbate barriers to health services and result in a range of adverse consequences for poor and marginalized populations. For example, laws criminalizing drug use may drive people who use drugs from life-saving harm reduction services (target 3.3/3.5). Restrictive and punitive drug policies can deprive people suffering from pain of their right to palliative care. Laws criminalizing abortion or restricting the provision of sexual and reproductive information or services put women and girls at increased risk of pregnancy-related complications and maternal mortality (target 3.2/3.7/Goal 5) (see A/HRC/32/32).
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 39
- Paragraph text
- Adolescent girls, adolescents with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents, adolescents living in institutions and adolescents from communities with a proliferation of unregulated weapons or experiencing armed conflict are among those particularly vulnerable to violence. The risks for girls include, for example, exposure to sexual violence and exploitation, forced and early marriage, honour killings and abusive practices often carried out in health-care settings, such as forced sterilization and forced abortion for girls with disabilities, and forced virginity testing.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 87
- Paragraph text
- AIDS is the second most common cause of death among adolescents globally. Worldwide, adolescents in key population groups, including gay and bisexual boys, transgender adolescents, adolescents who exchange sex for money, goods or favours and adolescents who inject drugs, are also at a higher risk of HIV infection. Adolescent girls in high-HIV burden countries are particularly vulnerable, making up 75 per cent of new infections in Africa in 2013, with gender inequality, harmful traditional practices and punitive age of consent laws identified as drivers of the epidemic. These sectors and groups face a disproportionately high risk of experiencing stigma, discrimination, violence, rejection by families, criminalization and other human rights violations when seeking sexual and reproductive health services, including denial of access to health-care services, such as HIV testing, counselling and treatment.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 86
- Paragraph text
- Adolescents with disabilities are frequently subjected to forced medical treatment, including sterilization, abortion and contraception, which can constitute torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Girls with disabilities in particular experience alarmingly disproportionate levels of physical and sexual violence, frequently without any means of redress or access to justice. Many health-care providers hold inaccurate, stereotypical views about individuals with disabilities, including assumptions that they are asexual, which serves to deny them access to sexual and reproductive health information, services and goods, as well as comprehensive sexuality education.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 94
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur deplores the imposition of treatments to try to change sexual orientation and gender identity, including forced sex assignment surgeries for intersex youth, forced sterilizations and abortions for girls with disabilities, the use of surgery and hormone therapy to stunt the growth of children with developmental disabilities and remove their reproductive organs, and the pathologizing of transgender identity and same-sex attraction as psychiatric disorders. States should eliminate such practices and to repeal all laws criminalizing or otherwise discriminating against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity and expression. There is a need to reform and update national health information systems to include human rights concepts and variables such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and intersex status.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons with disabilities
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 64
- Paragraph text
- Women constitute half of the world's population and are a highly heterogeneous group; health risks are not shared equally among all women. Overweight and obesity are increasingly prevalent among adolescent girls from highly urbanized areas, certain ethnic minorities, and those living with disabilities. Moreover, adolescent girls are particularly vulnerable to anxiety and depressive disorders, in comparison to boys. Accordingly, there is a significant need to engage at-risk women and girls in physical activity and sport, particularly at points when activity levels are most likely to drop steeply.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
The right to health and development 2011, para. 15
- Paragraph text
- Of the eight Millennium Development Goals subsequently developed to reflect the objectives agreed upon in the Millennium Declaration in 2000, Goals 4, 5 and 6 deal with health directly and others deals with underlying determinants of health. At least 8 of the 16 MDG targets, and 17 of the 48 related indicators, are health-related. As the MDGs have become a major focus of health-related development work, it was an important step for these goals to place health at the very centre of the development enterprise. Moreover, at the 2010 high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly, States committed to promoting global public health for all to achieve the MDGs and to ensure "respect for human rights, promote gender equality and the empowerment of women as essential means of addressing the health of women and girls, and to address the stigmatization of people living with and affected by HIV and AIDS". The normative framework that is now well developed and understood for the right to health is well placed to inform the efforts towards achieving the MDGs.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 49
- Paragraph text
- As noted by the Security Council (resolution 1820 (2008)) and others, certain civilians may be targeted on the basis of their perceived or actual association with ethnic, religious or political groups. Such strategies infringe human dignity and are manifestly incompatible with the right to health. In certain circumstances, they may also qualify as crimes against humanity, genocide or war crimes. For example, the use of gender-based violence as a strategy of conflict has been well documented. Such violence can include incestuous rape and public rape, rape as a deliberate vector of HIV, camps specifically designed for forced impregnation of women, and premeditated rape as a tool of political repression. Women and girls are common targets of sexual violence, although men and young boys may also be targeted with equal severity. As the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has noted (see E/CN.4/2004/13) among others, armed groups may also specifically target sex workers, sexual and ethnic minorities and other communities as a tool for "social cleansing" of "undesirable elements". By treating civilians as objects of conflict, the physical and psychological impact of sexual violence may extend beyond immediate survivors and disempower whole communities. Due to the stigma attached to sexual violence, survivors are often forced into silence and excluded from their communities. The impact of sexual violence on the mental health of survivors, as well as their family and community may endure for generations. Sexual violence also compromises the participation of targeted communities in public health efforts long after conflict has ended.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Personnes concernées
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Année
- 2013
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 80
- Paragraph text
- International human rights law places particular emphasis on the responsibility of States to address discrimination against women and girls and ensure that they enjoy their rights on the basis of equality with men and boys. Among other actions, States must ensure that national law provides a robust framework for gender equality and non-discrimination. In the context of early child development, policies and programmes must pay particular attention to redressing discrimination and to equality. For example, parenting programmes should be gender sensitive and States should make particular efforts to address any discrepancy in educational attainment between girls and boys.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Année
- 2015
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Universal health coverage cannot be achieved without meeting the core requirements of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality under the right to health. Among other things, services must be safely and geographically accessible without discrimination. The right to health requires that essential services include those for populations with specialized needs, such as sexual and reproductive health services adapted to the needs of women, girls, including those with disabilities, and transgender persons. Health services and access to underlying determinants must also be economically accessible. Even where there is widespread access to health services, the right to health demands that they be of sufficient quality, including in good working condition and medically and scientifically appropriate.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 23
- Paragraph text
- Many rights violations stem from a "winning at all costs" mentality that is tolerated or actively encouraged by States, particularly in competitive sporting contexts. A certain level of "healthy" sporting competition can foster participation, encourage individuals to strive for excellence, empower women and girls, and in many instances, increase individual enjoyment. However, appropriate safeguards should be implemented to ensure the protection of all amateur and professional athletes. As a broad, overarching principle, States should create an inclusive sporting environment wherein an optimal level of competitiveness is reached, and those participating in sports are protected from the harmful effects of overly competitive environments.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
The realization of the right to health of older persons 2011, para. 29
- Paragraph text
- Older women are often more disadvantaged because they may suffer from a combination of both gender and age discrimination. Ageing women make up a significant proportion of the world's population, with the majority of older women living in developing countries. A number of life-course events adversely affect the health of women in older age, including discrimination against infant girls in the provision of food and care, barriers to education, low incomes and poorer access to decent work, care-giving responsibilities as mothers and wives, domestic violence (during childhood, adulthood and elder abuse), widowhood, and cultural traditions and attitudes towards health care. Lower incomes, disruptions to work due to family responsibilities, and discrimination in access to the labour force during women's working life mean that women often have less retirement savings and are therefore more financially vulnerable in older age.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Economic Rights
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Older persons
- Women
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 5
- Paragraph text
- Lack of access to safe reproductive health services and information contributes to adolescent girls among the most at risk of dying or suffering from serious or lifelong injuries associated with early pregnancies and childbirth. The lack of effective adolescent mental health policies and services leads to significant failures in emotional and social development, including violence against and among adolescents. Nearly all these risks are preventable, with outcomes grounded in physical and social environments and frequently mediated by their behaviours.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 51
- Paragraph text
- Adolescence itself can be a basis for discrimination, with many adolescents treated as dangerous or hostile, incompetent to make decisions, incarcerated, exploited or exposed to violence as a direct consequence of their age. Health-care providers may perpetuate discrimination against adolescents when they deny them health services or contraceptive supplies or treat them poorly, which can make adolescents reluctant to seek the health-care they need. Adolescents belonging to marginalized groups or sectors, such as girls, racial or ethnic minorities, indigenous populations, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex adolescents, refugees and adolescents with disabilities, face a heightened risk of exclusion.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 92
- Paragraph text
- States are strongly encouraged to decriminalize abortion, in accordance with international human rights norms, and adopt measures to ensure access to legal and safe abortion services. Criminal laws with respect to abortion result in a high number of deaths, poor mental and physical health outcomes, infringement of dignity and amount to violations of the obligations of States to guarantee the right to health of adolescent girls. Furthermore, information about and access to abortion services must be available, accessible and of good quality, without discrimination, at a minimum in the following circumstances: when the life or health of the mother is at risk, when the mother is the victim of rape or incest and if there is severe and fatal foetal impairment. Post-abortion care must be available and accessible to all adolescent girls irrespective of the legal status of abortion.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 76
- Paragraph text
- Inequalities and discrimination obstruct equitable healthy development and educational attainment among young children from marginalized groups, including persons living in poverty, minority and indigenous groups, the girl child, persons with disabilities, persons in underserved areas such as rural populations, refugees, internally displaced children and children living in areas affected by conflict. Inequalities and discrimination ultimately contribute to health and other inequalities later in life and to the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Children
- Ethnic minorities
- Girls
- Persons on the move
- Persons with disabilities
- Youth
- Année
- 2015
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 84
- Paragraph text
- Many adolescents, in particular girls and those identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, are deterred from approaching health professionals in anticipation of a judgemental attitude that results from social norms or laws that stigmatize or criminalize their sexual behaviour. Rights to sexual and reproductive health for many adolescents are further compromised by violence, including sexual and institutional violence, coercion into unwanted sex or marriage, and patriarchal and heteronormative practices and values. This reinforces harmful gender stereotypes and unequal power relations that make it difficult for many adolescent girls to refuse sex or insist on safe and responsible sex practices.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 96
- Paragraph text
- Outside of high-income countries, data relating to adolescent substance use and related health harms are poor. Important differences exist among and within countries, between adolescents and their older counterparts and among groups of adolescents. For example, heavy episodic or binge use, especally of alcohol, is more common among young people. Adolescents' access to services is limited in comparison to adults, for example, being under the legal age of majority can block adolescents from accessing certain services. Those identified at greatest risk of drug-related harms are those who are street-involved, excluded from school, have histories of trauma, family breakdown or abuse, and those living in families coping with drug dependence. Adolescent girls are at a higher risk of certain kinds of harm than boys, including HIV infection due to both sexual transmission and unsafe injecting practices. These factors demand concerted efforts to gather appropriately disaggregated data to better understand patterns of vulnerability so that services can be targeted and properly budgeted.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 14
- Paragraph text
- Although opportunities for adolescents in many parts of the world have improved in recent years, the second decade of life is associated with exposure to increasing risks to the right to health, including violence, abuse, sexual or economic exploitation, trafficking, harmful traditional practices, migration, radicalization, recruitment into gangs or militias, self-harm, substance use and dependence and obesity. Gender inequalities become more significant as, for example, girls become exposed to child marriage, sexual violence and lower levels of enrolment in secondary education. The world in which adolescents live poses profound challenges, including poverty and inequality, climate change and environmental degradation, urbanization and migration, radical changes in employment potential, aging societies, rising health-care costs and escalating humanitarian and security crises.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Personnes concernées
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Sports and healthy lifestyles as contributing factors to the right to health 2016, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Moreover, sex segregation policies have led to multiple rights violations in sport. Sex segregation has historically been justified on the basis of safety and fairness, rooted in assumptions of male physical superiority. Various legal decisions have noted that this is a generalization and have granted individual girls and women the right to compete in male sporting competitions - although not vice versa. Although it is important to preserve spaces for girls and women to confidently participate in sport, this should not result in exclusion of others, such as transgender people.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Année
- 2016
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 62
- Paragraph text
- In jurisdictions where aspects of sexual and reproductive health are criminalized, the availability and accessibility of related information is greatly restricted. For example, penal codes may contain specific provisions that prohibit dispensing information on the prevention or interruption of pregnancies, or materials that supposedly conflict with notions of morality or decency. Punishments can range from fines to imprisonment. Moreover, the restriction of information relating to health can be an unintended result of laws relating to other information, such as pornography laws, which can also extend to criminalize sexual and reproductive health materials. Thus, public health and empowerment programmes and activities that rely on such information - educational campaigns on HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infection prevention, family planning, domestic violence, gender discrimination, female genital mutilation, sexual diversity, overall sexual and reproductive health - are effectively prohibited. Women and girls are most likely to be affected by this gap in available services and programming because they are exposed to a higher risk of HIV/AIDS and sexually transmitted infections, maternal mortality, unsafe abortion and unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 16
- Paragraph text
- Criminal laws and other legal restrictions affecting sexual and reproductive health may amount to violations of the right to health. Although the present report deals predominantly with the impact of these laws and legal restrictions on women and girls, it by no means discounts similar problems faced by men and boys. Women, however, are generally more likely to experience infringements of their right to sexual and reproductive health given the physiology of human reproduction and the gendered social, legal and economic context in which sexuality, fertility, pregnancy and parenthood occur. Persistent stereotyping of women's roles within society and the family establish and fuel societal norms. Many of those norms are based on the belief that the freedom of a woman, especially with regard to her sexual identity, should be curtailed and regulated (see E/CN.4/2002/83, para. 99). Where women transgress these stereotype-driven norms in the pursuit of sexual and reproductive freedom, they are often punished severely, with resultant adverse effects on their health outcomes and violations of their right to health. The criminal laws and other legal restrictions examined in the present report facilitate and justify State control over women's life, such as forcing women to continue unwanted or unplanned pregnancies.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 36
- Paragraph text
- The criminalization of abortion also has a severe impact on mental health. The need to seek illegal health services and the intense stigmatization of both the abortion procedure and women who seek such procedures can have deleterious effects on women's mental health. In some cases, women have committed suicide because of accumulated pressures and stigma related to abortion. In jurisdictions where rape is not a ground for termination of pregnancy, women and girls who are pregnant as a result of rape but who do not wish to continue their pregnancy are either forced to carry the pregnancy to term or seek an illegal abortion. Both options can cause enormous anguish. In electing to pursue either option, the overarching threat of being investigated, prosecuted and punished within the criminal justice system has significant negative impacts on the emotional health and well-being of both those who seek abortions and those who do not. Moreover, while the psychological impact of seeking an illegal abortion or carrying an unwanted pregnancy to term is well documented, no corresponding evidence supports the existence of long-term mental health sequelae resulting from elective abortion.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Right to health in conflict situations 2013, para. 45
- Paragraph text
- Mass displacement, breakdown of community and family networks, and institutional collapse may create a vacuum in which women and young girls are vulnerable to sexual violence. They face a heightened risk of sexual exploitation and trafficking, as well as increased domestic violence and abuse from family members. Health facilities that lack qualified health professionals, patient referral mechanisms and psychological counselling may be unable to identify and respond to these forms of conflict-related sexual violence. This is especially true when health services are restricted to sexual violence perpetrated by armed groups. The stigma associated with sexual violence and HIV and the absence of adequate protection mechanisms may also contribute to negative physical and mental health outcomes. Stigma, abandonment by families and communities, and retribution from perpetrators create an atmosphere that perpetuates gender-based violence and leads to the exclusion and disempowerment of survivors. The failure to provide services that promote the safety and respect the confidentiality of survivors undermines their full participation in society, particularly in post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Personnes concernées
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Année
- 2013
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 61
- Paragraph text
- Studies have shown that while few young people have accurate knowledge about HIV/AIDS, women are generally even less well informed than men. In a UNAIDS study of 147 countries, whereas more than 70 per cent of young men were found to recognize that condoms can protect against HIV, only 55 per cent of young women identified condoms as an effective strategy for HIV prevention. Women and girls are disproportionally impacted by legal restrictions to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education and information, which both reinforces and exacerbates the gender inequalities that the figures demonstrate. The existence of legal restrictions on access to sexual and reproductive health information and education lead to the provision of inaccurate information through informal sources that are often inaccurate and may reinforce negative gender stereotypes. As a result, young women are less prepared for their sexual and reproductive lives, leaving them vulnerable to coercion, abuse and exploitation, as well as to an increased risk of unintended pregnancy, unsafe abortion, maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections.
- Organe
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Type de document
- Special Procedures' report
- Thèmes
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Personnes concernées
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Année
- 2011
- Type de paragraphe
- Other
Paragraphe