SEXUAL HEALTH

Sexual health means having a responsible, satisfying, and safe sex life. Achieving sexual health requires a positive approach to human sexuality and mutual respect between partners. By recognizing sexual health - and sexual rights - health and education systems can help prevent and treat the consequences of sexual violence, coercion and discrimination, and ensure that healthy human sexuality is experienced by all people and is accepted as part of their overall well-being. An expert group to the World Health Organization has described sexual health as "the integration of the somatic, emotional, intellectual, and social aspects of sexual well-being in ways that are positively enriching and that enhance personality, communication and love" (1976).

WHAT IS SEXUAL HEALTH?

The basic elements of sexual health include:

A sexual life free from disease, injury, violence, disability, unnecessary pain, or risk of death.

A sexual life free from fear shame, guilt, and false beliefs about sexuality.

The capacity to experience and control one's own sexuality and reproduction.

Ensuring sexual health requires:

Respect for each individual's right to bodily integrity -the right to control one's own body.

Support for all the emotional and social dimensions of sexuality that enhance well-being and personal relationships.

Equal balance of power in sexual relations.

Access to safe, good quality, and affordable sexual and reproductive health information and services.

ASSURING SEXUAL HEALTH

Sexual health for women and men is assured by policies and programs that empower women and encourage men to take responsibility for their own sexual behavior. The Programme of Action adopted by 184 countries at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo in 1994 informs debate on how to better define and understand sexual health, as well as the steps necessary to achieve sexual health for women and men everywhere, including:
Achieve equality in sexual relations.
Sexuality and gender relations lie at the heart of reproductive and sexual health, yet most health and education programs and policies still reinforce different standards for men and women, as well as male dominance. The ICPD Programme of Action states:
Equal relations between men and women in matters of sexual relations and reproduction, including full respect for the physical integrity of the human body, require mutual respect and willingness to accept responsibility for the consequences of sexual behavior. Responsible sexual behavior, sensitivity and equity in gender relations, particularly when instilled during the formative years, enhance and promote respectful and harmonious partnerships between men and women. (para. 7.34)
End violence against women.
Every woman has the right to be free from violence in both the public and private spheres. When this right is infringed, women cannot freely enjoy their basic human rights. The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 recognizes the:
... importance of working towards the elimination of violence against women in public and private life, the elimination of all forms of sexual harassment, exploitation and trafficking in women, the elimination of gender-bias in the administration of justice and the eradication of any conflicts which may arise between the rights of women and the harmful effects of certain traditional and customary practices, cultural prejudices and religious extremism. (para. II. 38)
Change male roles
Many men do not take responsibility for their own sexual behavior, their fertility, the transmission of STDs, and the well-being of their sexual partners and the children they father. The ICPD Programme of Action states:
Special efforts should be made to emphasize men's shared responsibility and promote their active involvement in responsible parenthood, sexual and reproductive behavior, including family planning; prenatal, maternal and child health; prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV; prevention of unwanted and high-risk pregnancies; shared control and contribution to family income, children's education, health and nutrition; and recognition and promotion of the equal value of children of both sexes. (para. 4.27)
Ensure that health and education systems deal with sexuality and gender relations.
Parents and communities need to invest in health and education systems that place a value on creating supportive environments for the exploration of gender relations and sexuality, and that recognize sexuality as good and sexual health as central to overall well-being. The ICPD Programme of Action says that:
Recognizing the rights, duties and responsibilities of parents and other persons legally responsible for adolescents to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving capacities of the adolescent, appropriate direction and guidance in sexual and reproductive matters, countries must ensure that the programs and attitudes of health care providers do not restrict the access of adolescents to appropriate services and the information they need, including on sexually transmitted diseases and sexual abuse. (para. 7.45)

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