Background

Sexual and reproductive rights 30 years on

Proposal for the organisation of a series of scientific events at the Campus Condorcet

Mireille Le Guen[1],[2], Valentine Becquet[1],[3], Céline Miani[1],[4], Virginie Rozée[1] and Heini Väisänen[1]

[1] Institut National d’Études Démographiques (Ined), 9 Cours des Humanités, F-93300, Aubervilliers, France

[2] Centre de recherche en démographie (DEMO), Université catholique de Louvain, Place Montesquieu 1, L2.08.03, B-1348, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgique

[3] Centre Population et Développement (Ceped), 45 rue des Saints-Pères, F-75006, Paris, France

[4] Department of Epidemiology and international Public Health, School of Public Health, Université de Bielefeld, Universitätsstraße 15, D-33615, Bielefeld, Germany

In 2024 and 2025, we are celebrating the 30th anniversaries of the Cairo Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, 1994) and the Beijing World Conference on Women (1995), which facilitated the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights:

" These rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. It also includes their right to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence, as expressed in human rights documents" (United Nations, 1995, p. 38-39).

In order to make these rights effective, the Cairo Programme of Action (PoA), signed by 179 states, aimed to guide national public policies without being binding (Gautier & Grenier-Torres, 2014). This included developing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services allowing individuals access to necessary information for a fulfilling sexual life, family planning methods, screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs, particularly HIV), and maternal health services (Gautier & Grenier-Torres, 2014). Emphasis was also placed on promoting gender equality through the empowerment of women and girls, considered essential for the realization of sexual and reproductive rights (United Nations, 1995; Natividad, Kolundzija, & Parker, 2014).

In 2014, marking the 20th anniversary of the PoA, a rather mixed assessment was made (Gautier & Grenier-Torres, 2014). While progress was noted in terms of access to maternal health services and screening/treatment of STIs, researchers highlighted a lack of political will necessary for the development of sexual and reproductive health services, coinciding with a resurgence of conservative forces and the growth of a neoliberal market economy that pushed for reduced public spending (Berer, 2014; Natividad, Kolundzija, & Parker, 2014). Observing the limited progress in this area, the UN Secretary-General decided to extend the PoA goals until they were achieved (United Nations, 2014).

Three decades later, amidst significant advancements, such as increased contraception use (United Nations, 2019), there have also been setbacks. For example, the reversal of the Roe v. Wade decision in the United States has rendered abortion illegal in around twenty states (The New York Times, 2022), and pronatalist policies have been introduced in Japan (Mesmer, 2023). What is the current implementation of these rights worldwide, considering these developments, and what future perspectives should be considered? Through the organisation of a series of conferences during the academic year 2024-2025 (see the indicative program below) and several events such as film screenings and interventions by artists and civil society activists engaged in promoting sexual and reproductive rights, we will address the following points:

• Has the consensus reached during the PoA regarding abortion, which does not promote its legalization but encourages countries to provide post-abortion care (United Nations, 1995), not contributed to a slow erosion of this right, even in states where abortion was already legal?

• While the definition of sexual and reproductive rights states that " all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children," it seems to focus more on providing access to contraception than to supporting the development of assisted reproductive technologies. How accessible are currently those reproductive technologies, especially for racial minorities and LGBTQI+ individuals today? 

• Reproductive technologies like ultrasounds and preimplantation diagnostics have advanced since the 1980s and have contributed significantly to maternal and neonatal health screening. However, they have also been misused to facilitate sex-selective prenatal screening and elimination of female foetuses, in some countries on a large scale (Bongaarts & Guilmoto, 2015). How can this risk be addressed while ensuring the development and access to technologies that enhance reproductive rights for everyone?

• The #MeToo movement exposed the extent of gender-based violence to the public. While the PoA emphasized gender equality, what means are actually dedicated to combating these forms of violence in sexual and reproductive health policies?

• The PoA, by emphasizing the development of sexual and reproductive health services, did not anticipate potential harmful effects on women’s and children’s health, such as the global epidemic of unnecessary cesarean sections (Betran et al., 2021; Ye et al., 2015). More broadly, the question arises about combating obstetric and gynecological violence denounced since the 2000s in Latin America and since the 2010s in France.

All these aspects will ultimately lead to an examination of the concept of ’reproductive justice’ (Ross & Solinger, 2019), more prominently used today in feminist research to better address discriminations and violence against marginalized women and sexual minorities.

Conference series program (each with 3 to 4 speakers and a chair)

1. Advancements and setbacks of sexual and reproductive rights

2. Neglected areas of the Cairo Conference: Gender-based Violence, Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Men, and LGBT+ Rights

3. Perspectives from the field

4. Reproductive justice

References

BERER M., 2014, « The sustainable development agenda and unmet need for sexual and reproductive health and rights », Reproductive Health Matters, 22(43), p. 4‑13.

BETRAN A. P., YE J., MOLLER A.-B., SOUZA J. P., ZHANG J., 2021, « Trends and projections of caesarean section rates: global and regional estimates », BMJ global health, 6(6), p. e005671. doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2021-005671

BONGAARTS J., GUILMOTO C. Z., 2015, « How Many More Missing Women? Excess Female Mortality and Prenatal Sex Selection, 1970–2050 », Population and Development Review, 41(2), p. 241‑269. doi:10.1111/j.1728-4457.2015.00046.x

GAUTIER A., GRENIER-TORRES C., 2014, « Controverses autour des droits reproductifs et sexuels », Autrepart, 70(2), p. 3‑21. doi:10.3917/autr.070.0003

MESMER P., 2023, « Le Japon cherche à enrayer le déclin de sa natalité », Le Monde.fr, 27 janvier 2023.

NATIONS UNIES, 1995, « Rapport de la Conférence Internationale sur la Population et le Développement - Le Caire, 5-13 septembres 1994 », New York, Etats-Unis d’Amérique, Nations Unies.

NATIONS UNIES, 2014, « Plan directeur pour la suite à donner après 2014 au Programme d’action de la Conférence internationale sur la population et le développement », New York, Etats-Unis d’Amérique, FNUAP.

NATIVIDAD M. D., KOLUNDZIJA A., PARKER R., 2014, « ICPD both before and beyond 2014: The challenges of population and development in the twenty-first century », Global Public Health, 9(6), p. 594‑598. doi:10.1080/17441692.2014.922597

ROSS L., SOLINGER R., 2019, Reproductive Justice: An Introduction, University of California Press. doi:10.1525/9780520963207

THE NEW YORK TIMES, 2022, « Tracking the States Where Abortion Is Now Banned », The New York Times, 24 mai 2022.

UNITED NATIONS, 2019, Contraceptive Use by Method 2019: Data Booklet, UN, 28 p. doi:10.18356/1bd58a10-en

YE J., ZHANG J., MIKOLAJCZYK R., TORLONI M., GÜLMEZOGLU A., BETRAN A., 2015, « Association between rates of caesarean section and maternal and neonatal mortality in the 21st century: a worldwide population-based ecological study with longitudinal data », BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, p. n/a-n/a. doi:10.1111/1471-0528.13592