What does sexual health mean

Sexual health is fundamental to the overall health and well-being of individuals, couples and families, and to the social and economic development of communities and countries. Sexual health, when viewed affirmatively, requires a positive and respectfulapproach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence. The ability of men and women to achieve sexual health and well-being dependson their:

access to comprehensive, good-quality information about sex and sexuality;
knowledge about the risks they may face and their vulnerability to adverse consequences of unprotected sexual activity;
ability to access sexual health care;
living in an environment that affirms and promotes sexual health.

Sexual health-related issues are wide-ranging, and encompass sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual expression, relationships, and pleasure. They also include negative consequences or conditions such as:

infections with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and reproductive tract infections (RTIs) and their adverse outcomes (such as cancer and infertility);
unintended pregnancy and abortion;
sexual dysfunction;
sexual violence; and
harmful practices (such as female genital mutilation, FGM).

SEXUAL HEALTH IS A TYPE OF HEALTH

There are many types of health including physical health, mental health, spiritual health, cultural health, social health, financial health, environmental health, etc. Plus all these types of health can impact each other. For instance, if you are trying to prevent pregnancy and are able to access the birth control you need (physical health), this may help to create a more positive mood (emotional health), which may also positively impact your sense of sexual confidence and sexual self-esteem (sexual health).

Sexual health is as valuable as any other type of health. How important it is will be different for each person. Sometimes depending on where you are in the world and your upbringing, sexual health may not be as recognized as other types of health and there may even be shame, embarrassment, fear, and confusion with sexual health. This is very common as there, unfortunately, can be a lot of shame attached to things associated with “sex”. For example, it might feel more comfortable talking about a common cold or flu with family, friends or a doctor than it might be to talk about questions around sexual health. On the other hand, you may be very comfortable talking and learning about sexual health. Take a moment to think about how the topic of sexual health makes you feel?

No matter where you are coming from, WE ARE HERE to help bring Sexual Health into a more positive and empowering place. A place where hopefully you can learn the sexual health information you would like, see or speak to a professional in the field whether on the Sex Sense Line or at one of our many clinics throughout BC, and come away knowing that sexual health is a natural part of being human.

Options for Sexual Health champions and celebrates sexual health including an individual’s freedom of sexual expression, the diversity of human sexuality, and a positive sexual self-image for individuals throughout life.

What influences Sexual Health?

How we define sexual health will be different for each person. The reason is that sexual health is influenced by many personal and social factors such as:

Our values and beliefs
Upbringing
Culture
Religion
Indigenous Status
Spirituality
The people around us
Our personal experiences
Societal expectations
Legal and/or sexual rights

Think about what factors influence your sexual health? What messages have you been given about sexual health from…(if applicable)…..your family? friends? society? culture? religion? spirituality? What are some of your own values and beliefs?

How we experience our sexual health is also part of how we experience the world. For example, there are many factors that health researchers have identified that can impact our health including sexual health. These are known as the ‘social determinants of health’ and include how health is affected by income, education, employment, childhood development, food, housing, health services, gender, race, disability, Indigenous status, social marginalization, and social services. (adapted from http://www.purposesociety.org/health-programs/)

If someone’s gender identity/identities are not recognized this can impact their sexual health and experiences of social marginalization. Another example is if someone is a newcomer to Canada and may not speak the language or have the health care card that will allow them to access the sexual health services they need.

As you can see, our sexual health is as individual and complicated as the various dynamics of our lives.

Human sexuality rarely falls into neat categories or lends itself to simple labeling, but rather is a rich and complex area of human experience.

Sexual health is personal, psychological, relational, cultural, spiritual, physical, and emotional.

So what does “sexual health” mean to you?

Being sexually healthy means being able to enjoy a healthier body, a satisfying sexual life, positive relationships, and peace of mind.

Sexual health is having a healthier body. A satisfying sex life. Valuing and feeling good about yourself. Having peace of mind. Positive relationships, whether short term or long term. Experiencing pleasure, intimacy, and joy. Avoiding sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies. These are just a few of the important benefits of good sexual health.

Action Steps to Good Sexual Health

The NCSH has identified five key steps that can help individuals achieve good sexual health:

Value who you are and decide what’s right for you
Treat your partners well and expect them to treat you well
Build positive relationships
Get smart about your body and protect it
Make sexual health part of your healthcare routine

Click here to learn more about our sexual health messages for the public.

What Is Good Sexual Health and How Do I Achieve it?

A healthier body. A satisfying sex life. Valuing and feeling good about yourself. Having peace of mind. Positive and satisfying relationships. Avoiding sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also known as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Preventing unplanned pregnancies. These are just a few of the important benefits of good sexual health. Being sexually healthy means being able to enjoy a healthier body, a satisfying sexual life, positive relationships, and peace of mind. Being sexually healthy also means enjoying your sexuality and taking care of yourself and your partners throughout your life. Being free to talk about sexual health with your partner and health professional is key to your health.

Value who you are and decide what’s right for you. Sex is a natural part of life. Sex can bring you pleasure, intimacy, and joy. But it is up to you to decide if, and when, you want to have sex. First, think about what you want. Then, define your own values, desires, and boundaries. These might change depending on your stage in life.

Get smart about your body and protect it. Learn about your body and how it works. Explore ways to express yourself sexually. Practice safer sex to protect yourself and your partners from STIs and unplanned pregnancies.

Condoms can prevent both STIs and unplanned pregnancies, while other contraceptive methods only prevent pregnancy. For extra protection, some people use condoms along with their chosen method of birth control.

Treat your partners well and expect them to treat you well. Be with someone who makes you feel good about yourself, comfortable and safe. Partners should respect your boundaries and should not pressure or force you to do something you don’t want to. You should also respect your partner and not force them to do anything they don’t want to.

Build positive relationships by having open and honest conversations about your relationship, desires, and sexual health. Respect each other and make decisions together. If health problems come up, discuss them openly and get medical care. Seek help if your partner is violent, abusive, or pressures you or tries to control you. Talk to your health professional or find a program that helps people who are experiencing violence in their relationship.

Make sexual health part of your health care routine. This will help protect your sexual health and well-being. Find a health professional who makes you feel comfortable and respects you. You have a right to good medical care. Talk openly with your health care provider about how to stay healthy. Share any concerns or problems you may have about your sexual health. At your next visit, ask questions and get the services that are recommended for you. It’s time to give sexual health the attention it deserves.

To learn more, visit FiveActionSteps.org.

Women’s sexual and reproductive health is related to multiple human rights, including the right to life, the right to be free from torture, the right to health, the right to privacy, the right to education, and the prohibition of discrimination. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) have both clearly indicated that women’s right to health includes their sexual and reproductive health.

This means that States have obligations to respect, protect and fulfill rights related to women’s sexual and reproductive health. The Special Rapporteur on the right to health maintains that women are entitled to reproductive health care services, and goods and facilities that are:

available in adequate numbers;
accessible physically and economically;
accessible without discrimination; and
of good quality (see report A/61/338).

Examples of violations

Despite these obligations, violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are frequent. These take many forms, including:

denial of access to services that only women require;
poor quality services;
subjecting women’s access to services to third party authorization;
forced sterilization, forced virginity examinations, and forced abortion, without women’s prior consent;
female genital mutilation (FGM); and
early marriage.

Causes and consequences of sexual and reproductive health violations

Violations of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights are often due to deeply engrained beliefs and societal values pertaining to women’s sexuality. Patriarchal concepts of women’s roles within the family mean that women are often valued based on their ability to reproduce. Early marriage and pregnancy, or repeated pregnancies spaced too closely together—often as the result of efforts to produce male offspring because of the preference for sons—has a devastating impact on women’s health with sometimes fatal consequences. Women are also often blamed for infertility, suffering ostracism and being subjected to various human rights violations as a result.

Relevant human rights standards

CEDAW (article 16) guarantees women equal rights in deciding “freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights.”

CEDAW (article 10) also specifies that women’s right to education includes “access to specific educational information to help to ensure the health and well-being of families, including information and advice on family planning.”

TheBeijing Platform for Action states that “the human rights of women include their right to have control over and decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their sexuality, including sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.”

The CEDAW Committee’s General Recommendation 24 recommends that States prioritise the “prevention of unwanted pregnancy through family planning and sex education.”

The CESCR General Comment 14 has explained that the provision of maternal health services is comparable to a core obligation which cannot be derogated from under any circumstances, and the States have to the immediate obligation to take deliberate, concrete, and targeted steps towards fulfilling the right to health in the context of pregnancy and childbirth.

The CESCR General Comment 22 recommends States “to repeal or eliminate laws, policies and practices that criminalize, obstruct or undermine access by individuals or a particular group to sexual and reproductive health facilities, services, goods and information.”

Human rights standards in this area are summarized in the OHCHR information series on sexual and reproductive health and rights.

Videos

#RightToABetterWorld video series
19 November 2020

“Ask anything about health and human rights” with Kate Gilmore
17 June 2017

Feature stories

From Benin to Florida: Dr Joannie Bewa’s global fight for women’s education
5 March 2019

When you stand up for girls, you stand up for everyone
8 February 2019

Gender integration in human rights investigations
5 October 2018

Related publications, resources and reports

Role of the Judiciary in addressing stereotypes in sexual and reproductive health and rights cases – a review of case law: This paper analyzes how courts and judicial bodies have challenged wrongful gender stereotyping in legislation, policies or cases by lower courts concerning select sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) issues.
PDF: English | Spanish

Translating community research into global policy reform for national action – A checklist for community engagement to implement the WHO Consolidated guideline on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV (2019): This guideline seeks to support frontline health-care providers, programme managers and public health policymakers to better address the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of women living with HIV in all their diversity. It was developed with engagement from communities of women living with HIV throughout its development and publication.

Consolidated guideline on sexual and reproductive health and rights of women living with HIV (WHO) (2017): This guideline is meant to help countries to more effectively and efficiently plan, develop and monitor programmes and services that promote gender equality and human rights and hence are more acceptable and appropriate for women living with HIV, taking into account the national and local epidemiological context. It discusses implementation issues that health interventions and service delivery must address to achieve gender equality and support human rights.

Reflection GuidesReflection Guide for the Judiciary / PDF: English
Reflection Guide for Health Workers / PDF: English
Reflection Guide for Health Policy Makers / PDF: English
Reflection Guide for National Human Rights Institutions / PDF: English

Resources on HRBA to maternal mortality and morbidity

See more resources on the human rights-based approaches to maternal health page.

Reports of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

Good practices and challenges to respecting, protecting and fulfilling all human rights in the elimination of preventable maternal mortality and morbidity - Follow-up report (2020) – A/HRC/45/19

View report page with submissions and note verbal

Summary report on the expert meeting to discuss good practices, gaps and challenges in the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal mortality and morbidity in humanitarian settings – A/HRC/42/24

Follow-up report on how technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal mortality and morbidity has been applied to States and other relevant actors (2018) – A/HRC/39/26

View report page with submissions and note verbal

View report page with submissions and note verbale

Application of the technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal mortality and morbidity (2014) – A/HRC/27/20

Technical guidance on the application of a human rights-based approach to the implementation of policies and programmes to reduce preventable maternal mortality and morbidity (2012) – A/HRC/21/22

Other reports, handbooks and fact sheets

Factsheet: Your Health, Your Choice, Your Rights: International and Regional Obligations on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (2018)
Leading the realization of human rights to health and through health: report of the High-Level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children and Adolescents (2017)
PDF: English

Human Rights Committee decision on denial of access to abortion in Ireland, Whelan. v. Ireland (11 July 2017) (CCPR/C/119/D/2425/2014)
PDF in 6 official UN languages

Human Rights Committee decision on denial of access to abortion in Ireland, Mellet v. Ireland (17 November 2016) (CCPR/C/116/D/2324/2013)
PDF in 6 official UN languages

CEDAW inquiry report on contraception ban in Manila, Philippines (2014)
PDF: English | Français | Español

Reproductive Rights are Human Rights: A Handbook for National Human Rights Institutions Published jointly with UNFPA and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (2014)
PDF: English