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Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 52
- Paragraph text
- Community empowerment initiatives working with poor and marginalized communities have achieved extraordinary health outcomes, for example in the global fight to end HIV/AIDS (target 3.3) (E/HLPF/2016/2, para. 107). Economic and social empowerment, such as the decriminalization of sex work and sex worker mobilization, have improved health and identified critical health gaps (Goals 3 and 5). Community mobilization to attain adequate and stable housing for homeless people living with HIV can have life-saving implications for their health (targets 3.3 and 11.1). Efforts to empower parents in vulnerable situations through participatory parental education initiatives reduce the risk of negative health outcomes for their children (Goal 3 and targets 4.2, 5.2 and 16.2). When young girls have access to education, child mortality rates and girls' long-term health improve (Goals 3, 4 and 5) (A/70/213, para. 9). Investments in such initiatives place the human rights principles of autonomy and participation at the centre of public health policy and are critical components of an open, inclusive and peaceful society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Youth
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Report of the SR on the right to health and Agenda 2030 2016, para. 91
- Paragraph text
- Addressing violence cuts across the Sustainable Development Goals and is critical to the realization of the right to health. The Goals envisage "a world free from fear and violence" and include specific commitments to eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres (target 5.2); to eliminate all harmful practices, including child early and forced marriage and genital mutilation (target 5.3); to significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere (target 16.1); and to end all forms of violence against and torture of children (target 16.2). The Goals also include a commitment to build capacities to prevent violence (target 16.a). In addition, several other Goals address risk factors linked to violence, including ending poverty (Goal 1), ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being (Goal 3), ensuring quality education (Goal 4), addressing inequalities (Goal 10) and making cities and settlements safe (Goal 11). As recognized in the Goals, reducing and eliminating violence is critical to transforming the world into a peaceful and inclusive global community.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Harmful Practices
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Humanitarian
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Families
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2013
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 53
- Paragraph text
- Other laws restricting access to family planning and contraception include a city-wide de facto ban on so-called "artificial" contraception in one jurisdiction, which created significant difficulty for women in accessing reliable forms of birth control (see A/HRC/14/20/Add.1). A total of 70 per cent of the affected population, a majority of whom were poor and marginalized, depended on Government providers for services including female sterilization, oral pills, intrauterine devices and injectables (ibid.). The ban resulted in the absolute deprivation of access to family planning services and contraception for many women and men. In other instances, States require women to obtain their husband's consent and adolescents to obtain parental consent before acquiring various forms of contraception. Other jurisdictions allow pharmacists, and in some cases pharmacies, to refuse to dispense emergency contraception, which is otherwise legally available. These laws directly infringe upon the right of women and girls to make free and informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and reflect discriminatory notions of women's roles in the family and society.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 17
- Paragraph text
- The causal relationship between the gender stereotyping, discrimination and marginalization of women and girls and their enjoyment of their right to sexual and reproductive health is well documented (see E/CN.4/2002/83 and E/CN.4/2004/49). Criminalization generates and perpetuates stigma; restricts their ability to make full use of available sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information; denies their full participation in society; and distorts perceptions among health-care professionals which, as a consequence, can hinder their access to health-care services. Criminal laws and other legal restrictions disempower women, who may be deterred from taking steps to protect their health, in order to avoid liability and out of fear of stigmatization. By restricting access to sexual and reproductive health-care goods, services and information these laws can also have a discriminatory effect, in that they disproportionately affect those in need of such resources, namely women. As a result, women and girls are punished both when they abide by these laws, and are thus subjected to poor physical and mental health outcomes, and when they do not, and thus face incarceration.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Youth
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health of adolescents 2016, para. 42
- Paragraph text
- The focus in the Sustainable Development Goals on tackling violence against women and girls is welcome. However, significant levels of violence are also experienced by adolescent boys. Boys caught up in violent crime are often exposed to harsh punitive responses by States that create a downward spiral of increasing violence with profound detriment to their physical and mental health and well-being.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 81
- Paragraph text
- The Special Rapporteur wishes to highlight that the healthy development of boys is an important issue and should also be addressed. In many cultures boys are not allowed or encouraged to express their emotions, which results in the adult male population being more prone to violent and self-destructive behaviour. This inhibition relates to gender stereotyping that is harmful for both girls and women, boys and men.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Right to health in early childhood - Right to survival and development 2015, para. 79
- Paragraph text
- Gender biases within families give rise to a range of inequalities that obstruct the optimal development of the girl child. Where gender inequalities persist, boys may receive greater medical attention and girls may be vulnerable to discriminatory feeding patterns.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Families
- Girls
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
Criminalisation of sexual and reproductive health 2011, para. 22
- Paragraph text
- The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has strongly disapproved of restrictive abortion laws, especially those that prohibit and criminalize abortion in all circumstances (see CEDAW/C/CH/CO/4, para. 19). It has also confirmed that such legislation does not prevent women from procuring unsafe illegal abortions and has framed restrictive abortion laws as a violation of the rights to life, health and information. The Committee on the Rights of the Child is also concerned about the impact of highly restrictive abortion laws on the right to health of adolescent girls. The Committee against Torture has further stated that punitive abortion laws should be reassessed since they lead to violations of a woman's right to be free from inhuman and cruel treatment. The Human Rights Committee concluded that equality between men and women required equal treatment in the area of health and the elimination of discrimination in the provision of goods and services and addressed the need to review abortion laws to prevent rights violations (see CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.10, paras. 20, 28 and 31). The former Special Rapporteur on the right to health called for removal of punitive measures against women who seek abortions (see E/CN.4/2004/49, para. 30).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Governance & Rule of Law
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2011
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Children
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Boys
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Violence
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- LGBTQI+
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Environment
- Gender
- Health
- Humanitarian
- Movement
- Poverty
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Children
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Adolescents
- Girls
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Persons with disabilities
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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).
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Girls
- Women
- Year
- 2016
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph
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.
- Body
- Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health
- Document type
- Special Procedures' report
- Topic(s)
- Equality & Inclusion
- Gender
- Health
- Person(s) affected
- Boys
- Children
- Girls
- Men
- Women
- Year
- 2015
- Date added
- Aug 19, 2019
Paragraph