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Sexual and reproductive
rights have been a theme on the agenda of the political struggle
of the women's movement and in particular of feminism, for several
decades. The differing positions taken with regard to these rights
today, mark a clear divide between progressive parties and conservative
parties and likewise between politics of the left and politics of
the right. This has become evident during international meetings
and particularly at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
in 1995, and the Conference on Beijing + 5 in New York in 2000.
In defence of sexual
and reproductive rights, Socialist International Women has taken
a position in support of the inalienable rights of women, in this
way contributing to the promotion of progress and equality. In
essence, these rights include the recognition of a woman's authority
over her sexual life and reproductive capacity, free from coercion,
violence and discrimination.
Central to women's exercise
of citizenship and to the possibilities and opportunities for their
personal and collective development in any society are:
- access to accurate
and up-to-date information on sexuality and reproduction;
- the ability to
make decisions about one's own body for full sexual enjoyment
and reproduction;
- integral sexual
and reproductive health care through access to health and education
services; and
- equity, respect
and solidarity in relations between men and women.
The obstacles to the exercise
of women's sexual and reproductive rights are the result of various
conditions - from the failure of governments' political will to
develop public policies which safeguard these rights; to the conservative
position of powerful groups within different religions; to the prevailing
patriarchal cultural stereotypes which normalise and reproduce the
subordination and discrimination of women within the area of sexuality
and reproduction. Overcoming these obstacles requires multiple strategies
at the cultural, social and political level.
Socialist International Women, from its active commitment to women's
fights for their rights and with the deepest conviction of the significance
of respect for sexual and reproductive rights for equality and social
justice, proposes:
- the adoption of
laws that promote sexual and reproductive health at all levels;
- the effective incorporation
of budgetary items which will guarantee their implementation;
- the implementation
of public policies with a cross-gender perspective, which incorporate
inter-institutional action, prioritising health, education and
social advancement;
- the inclusion of
more women in decision-making bodies in legislative and executive
arenas;
- the integration
of specialist NGOs in the design, implementation and evaluation
of public policies.
Finally, SIW wishes to
recall that the defence of women's sexual and reproductive rights
forms part of a wider proposition which defends new models of the
family: families which constitute new schools of democracy in which
the emphasis must be placed on equality, liberty, the shared responsibility
of men and women and the individual respect for all members of it,
children as well as adults. The first right of a child is to be
wanted and loved from the beginning of its life, for which it is
essential that action is taken to ensure the sexual and reproductive
rights of women. |
