medical student lecture

1. REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH,
WOMEN’S SEXUAL AND
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.
BY
DR. SINGH S
DEPARTMENT OF OBS/GYNAE,
UDUTH,
SOKOTO,
NIGERIA.
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2. INTRODUCTION
Concept of reproductive health – relatively new. Emerged
following ICPD Cairo Egypt, 1994. ICPD also heralded
women’s sexual and reproductive rights, and constituted
the framework for the development of the UN MDGs in
2000.
WHAT IS REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH?
Defined in relation to the positive definition of health in
WHO constitution as: a state of complete physical,
mental, and social well being, and not merely the
absence of disease or disorder of the reproductive
process.

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RH also adopts a life-cycle approach to
women’s health:
 Anticipating and meeting women’s health
needs from infancy through old age,
 Emphasizing health-seeking behavior and
appropriate services to meet women’s health
needs throughout their lives, and
 Recognizes the right of all women to
make informed decisions about their health.
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Life-Cycle approach to reproductive health
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The components of reproductive health:
 Safe Motherhood
 Family planning
 Infertility — prevention and management.
 Infant and child survival, growth and
development.
 Prevention and management of STIs & HIV/AIDS.
 Abortion — including the prevention and
management of unsafe abortion.
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6. The components of reproductive health contd
 Management of Reproductive tract malignancies, and
other non- infectious conditions of the reproductive
system such as genital fistula, cervical cancers and
complications of female genital mutilation.
 Adolescent reproductive health and sexuality.
 Human sexuality.
 Traditional practices harmful to women
 Gender discrimination — gender inequity and
inequality.
 Reproductive health problems associated with
menopause & andropause.

7. WOMEN’S SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE
RIGHTS
Right- based approach adopted as a universal policy
consensus, at ICPD Cairo, 1994, representing a
paradigm shift in emphasis from family planning
and demography to the right of the individual.
The Concept of Women’s Sexual and Reproductive
Right (WSRR) emerged and became recognized as
an integral aspect of universal human right.

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The rights based approach to reproductive health
includes:
Place of the health and well being of individuals at the
centre of programme policy design,
 Recognition of the importance of gender equity and
equality, and
 Building on the existing international human rights
agreements.
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9. Reproductive Rights:
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• This implies the right of
• couples to decide freely and responsibly on the
number of children
• timing, and spacing of their children
•have the information, education and means to do so
•attain the highest standards of reproductive health
•
•make decisions
about
reproduction
discrimination, coercion and violence.
free
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of

10. Sexual Right:
•This implies the right of all people to decide
freely and responsibly on all aspects of their
sexuality
• be free of discrimination, coercion and
•violence in their sexual lives and decisions;
•and expect and demand equality,
• full consent
•mutual respect
•shared responsibility in sexual relationships

11. Components of Women’s Sexual & Rep.
Rights:
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The right to Life.
The right to liberty and security of the person.
The right to equality and to be free from all
forms of discrimination.
The right to privacy.
Right to freedom of thought.
Right to information and education.
Right to choose whether or not to marry and
to found and plan a family.
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12. 8. Right to decide whether and when to have
children.
9. Right to healthcare and protection.
10. Right to benefits of scientific progress.
11. Right to freedom of assembly and political
participation
12. Right to be free from torture and ill
treatment

13. AREAS OF SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
ABUSE OF WOMEN IN NIGERIA.
• Unsafe motherhood: evident from high maternal
mortality. Approximately 515,000 women die
annually from pregnancy and child birth 99% occur
in sub-Saharan Africa.
- Morbidities occur in as high as 50 million women
- Nigerian accounts for approximately 10% of
maternal deaths.
- Maternal mortality violates women’s right to life

14. UNSAFE ABORTION:
• Definition (WHO)
-procedure for terminating an unwanted pregnancy
either by persons lacking the necessary skills or in
an environment lacking the minimal medical
standards or both.
-Approximately 20 million induced abortions occur
annually (95% of which occur in developing
countries), causing the death of about 80,000
women.

15. - Unsafe abortion and its complication can violate the
following sexual and reproductive right of women :
– Right to life;
– right to information and education;
– the right to decide whether or when to have children;
– right to health care and protection and
– right to benefits of scientific progress.

16. TRADITIONAL HARMFUL PRACTICES
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
CULTURAL
Female genital mutilation
Early marriage
Widowhood rites and widows right infringement
Female disinheritance.
SOCIAL
Gender inequality
Violence against women
Women trafficking.

17. FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION
- Any procedure which involves partial or total removal of the
external genitalia and/or injury to the female genital organs,
whether for cultural or any other non-therapeutic reasons –
WHO.
• FGM violates women’s right
– to health care and protection
– right to be free from ill treatment and torture.

18. EARLY MARRIAGE:
• Simply means when a child(below 14yrs) or young
person(up to 17yrs) willingly or unwillingly goes
into marriage.
• Early marriage violates the following rights of the
girl child
– to equality and all forms discrimination
– to information and education
– choose whether or when to marry and plan a family
– healthcare and protection
– freedom from ill treatment and torture.

19. WIDOWHOOD RITES AND WIDOWS
RIGHT INFRINGEMENT:
- These are cultural practices usually dehumanizing
often cultural accompanying human rights
infringement carried out on women following the
death of their husbands
- These practices violates women’s right
– to equality and freedom from all forms of discrimination;
– choose whether or not to marry or have children
– to health care and protection
– freedom from torture and ill treatment.

20. FEMALE DISINHERITANCE
• This refers to the cultural practice that forbid female
from inheriting properties from their immediate
families.
• The practice violate women’s rights
– to equality and freedom from discrimination,
– ill treatment and torture.

21. GENDER INEQUALITY AND INEQUITY
Is unequal visibility, empowerment and distribution of sexes in
all spheres of private and public lives.
- Inequality and discrimination against the female exist
ranging from male child preference to; health and nutrition;
education; politics; economy; work and employment;
sexually transmitted infection.
- Gender inequality violates the women’s rights to
– equality and freedom from discrimination;
– healthcare and protection
– information and education
– freedom from ill treatment and torture.

22. VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Any gender based act that results in or is likely to result in
physical, sexual and psychological harm or suffering to
women including threats of such acts,coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private
life. Includes:
• Physical violence(battery)including rape,
• Domestic or intimate partner violence, and sexual and
reproductive right abuse of the women.

23. It violates women’s right
• to liberty and security;
• equality and freedom from discrimination;
• freedom from torture and ill treatment.

24. Women trafficking:
All acts involved in the recruitment or transportation
of women within or across national borders, for
work or services, by means of violence or threat of
violence, debt bondage, deception or other
coercion.
- Trafficking violates women’s right to
• liberty and security;
• equality and freedom from discrimination;
• freedom from torture and ill treatment.

25. RECOMMENDED MEASURES TO
PROMOTE WSRR IN NIGERIA.
1. Development of right- based reproductive health policies
e.g. Free ANC delivery and family planning services for
all.
2. Legislation in favour of safe motherhood and against
harmful traditional practices e.g. FGM.
3. Social and economic empowerment of women through
free education skills acquisition, small loans schemes.
4. Strengthening primary health services and restructuring
secondary and tertiary services to meet RH demands.

26. 5. Development of rights based code of ethics and
incorporation into the curriculum of medical
education.
6. Domestication of international conventions e.g
CEDAW
7. Reminder to man and boys of their RH
responsibilities to women and girls

27. THANK
YOU