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PRIORITYMEASURE34
“Promote policies that enable persons to exercise their sexual rights, which embrace the right toa safe and full sex life, aswell as the right to take free, informed,
voluntary and responsible decisions on their sexuality, sexual orientation and gender identity, without coercion, discrimination or violence,
and that guarantee the right to information and themeans necessary for their sexual health and reproductive health.”
Possible lines of action
1. Ensure that there are specificnormative frameworks inplacecovering sexual rightswith respect to sex, age, gender, gender identity, sexual
orientation, marital status, health status or HIV/AIDS status; 2. To developmechanisms for applying legislation and normative frameworks
on sexual rights, and the financial resources needed to put them into practice; 3. Implement programmes of comprehensive sexuality
education from early childhood, with a participatory, intercultural, gender and human rights focus; 4. Implement antidiscrimination
programmes based on the protection and promotion of all human rights, including sexual rights, sexual orientation and gender identity;
5. Implement programmes against all forms of violence, including any type of physical, verbal, psychological or economic abuse, sexual
harassment or sexual violence, rape and any other form of coercive sexual relationship within or outside wedlock, during armed conflicts,
forced displacements, disaster situations or other conditions of vulnerability; 6. Promote measures to guarantee the right to information
regardingSRH andSRR; 7. Establish complaint and redressmechanisms for cases of discrimination.
Targets
1. Promulgate or reinforce and implement specific national legislation on sexual rights, and create complaint and redressmechanisms for
cases of discrimination; 2. Reduce the indices of sexual violence (physical, verbal, psychological or economic abuse, sexual harassment
or sexual violence, rape and any other form of coercive sexual relationship within or outside wedlock, during armed conflicts, forced
displacements, disaster situations or other conditions of vulnerability; 3. Have in place normative frameworks that guarantee the right to
information, consistent with other human rights, inmatters relating to sexual and reproductive rights, including access to services.
Tentative indicators
1. Mandatory normative frameworks that are specific as to sexual rights by area, including health, education and gender equality;
2. Percentage of people reporting that they have been victims of sexual violence; 3. Percentage of people reporting that they have been
victims of discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity; 4. Number of deaths of women at the hands of their
partner or former partner; 5. Existence of research on the protection of reproductive rights and containing recommendations in this
respect; 6. Percentage of the population aged 15 and over making free and informed decisions about sexuality, disaggregated by age,
gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity and socioeconomic level, as determined by population surveys conducted for the
purpose of compiling this information.
Related instruments,
forums andmechanisms
1. Brasilia Consensus, 2010; 2. Santo Domingo Consensus, 2013; 3. As intergovernmental measures and agreements concerning sexual
rights are more recent, there is no specific mechanism for such follow-up, and it would be desirable for the Second RCPD to consider
adopting an appropriatemechanism in cooperationwith theRegional Conference onWomen.
Comments
1. Thismeasure is complementary to PM 36 on eradicating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the exercise
of sexual rights and themanifestations thereof, as well as with the prioritymeasures of chapter E on gender equality, in particular those
on reducing gender-based violence and violence against women; 2. While there are no specificmechanisms for protecting sexual rights,
civil society and experts on the issue havemade contributions such as theYogyakartaDeclaration defining basic standards for theUnited
Nations and member States to move forward in guaranteeing protection for sexual rights, and the IPPF declaration on sexual rights.
Specialized surveyswill be needed tomeasure some of the indicators, especially number 6.
