Reproductive Health and Rights
Reproductive rights are central to HIV advocacy. All individuals, including those living with HIV, have the right to make informed, autonomous decisions about whether to bear a child and, for women, the appropriate care during pregnancy and childbirth. For people living with HIV, reproductive decisions can be more complex, involving medical decisions that can drastically reduce the risk of transmission during insemination, pregnancy, childbirth, and feeding. The Resource Bank includes materials that concern the nexus of HIV and reproductive rights advocacy, including access to medical care, prevention methods, mother-to-child transmission, sexuality education, sperm washing, and more.
HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCE
Meeting the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of People Living with HIV, The Guttmacher Institute & The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS
.jpg) The Guttmacher Institute outlines the changing sexual and reproductive health needs of people living with HIV as the disease has become a manageable chronic disease. Included is information on fertility issues and childbearing, prevention of unplanned pregnancy, and effective transmission prevention for discordant couples. The article also addresses common issues of discrimination and bias in medical and other settings, such as disclosure of HIV status without consent, coerced abortion and sterilization, and unwillingness to accept the sexuality of HIV positive people, that affect access to adequate sexual and reproductive health care.
Click here to download.
HIGHLIGHTED RESOURCE
Integrating Voluntary HIV Counseling and Testing Into Reproductive Care, UN Population Fund & International Planned Parenthood Foundation
.jpg) This guide aims to provide sexual and reproductive health program planners, managers, and providers with the information necessary to integrate voluntary counseling and testing (VCT) for HIV within their services. VCT is not merely the simple assent to testing, but rather "the process by which an individual undergoes confidential counseling to enable the individual to make an informed choice about learning his or her HIV status and to take appropriate action." Counseling for VCT consists of pre-test, post-test, and follow-up counseling. VCT is a human-rights based approach to HIV testing and treatment that enables patients to make informed decisions; it has been shown to be an effective strategy to facilitate behavior change for HIV prevention, as well as to reduce the stigma and discrimination associated with HIV. The guide discusses the benefits of VCT and the barriers to implementation, and provides specific steps for each stage of implementing VCT, including the initial assessment of community need, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.
Click here to download.
THE FINE PRINT
Abstinence Until Marriage Programming As A Human Rights Violation
by Ashley Burczak
CHLP Program and Development Associate and Co-Founder and Former Executive Director of Students Active For Ending Rape (SAFER)
The National Sexuality Resource Center has  released a new study on the impact of abstinence-only programs, and their findings point to problems so deep that these programs can actually be considered a human rights violation. More
External Links
Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (SIECUS)
Advocacy for the right of all people to accurate information, comprehensive education about sexuality, and sexual health services.
Guttmacher Institute
Sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and public education.
Center for Reproductive Rights
Legal advocacy dedicated to promoting and defending women's reproductive rights worldwide.
ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project
Legal advocacy for reproductive rights.
United Nations Population Fund
A United Nations program to reduce poverty and to ensure reproductive rights and health, HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, and the dignity and respect of women and girls.
|
