GE 11 Gender and Society

Instructor: Escribano, Samuel T.

Lesson 6: Sexual and Reproductive Health

At the end of this lesson, the students are expected to:

A- Internalize the importance of Sexual and Reproductive Rights

S- Articulate ideas on how Women can have a safe and healthy Sexual life with the
help of their partners

K- Analyze the importance of Reproductive Health

Sexual and Reproductive Rights

Sexual and Reproductive Rights means you should be able to make your own
decisions about your body, and:

 Get accurate information about these issues

 Access sexual and reproductive health services including contraception
 Choose if, when and who to marry; and
 Decide if you want to have children and how many.

This also means that our lives should be free from all forms of sexual violence,
including rape, female genital mutilation, forced pregnancy, forced abortion, and
forced sterilization.

In the Philippines, the Department of Health (DOH) was able to formulate the 13
Sexual Reproductive Health Rights. These are:

1. The Right to Life

This means, that no women should be put at risk by reason of pregnancy,
gender, or lack of access to health information and services. This also
includes the right to be safe and satisfying sex life.
2. The Right to Liberty and Security of a person
It means that no women should be subjected to forced pregnancy, forced
sterilization, and forced abortion.

3. The Right to Equality and to be free from all Forms of Discrimination

This includes freedom from discrimination because of one’s sexuality and
reproductive life choices

4. The Right to Privacy

This means that all sexual and reproductive health care services should be
confidential in terms of physical set-up, information given or shared by
the clients, and access to records or reports.

5. The Right to Freedom of Thought

6. Right to Information and Education

This includes full access to information on the benefits, risks, and
effectiveness of all methods of fertility regulation, in order that all
decisions taken are made on the basis of full, free, and informed consent.

7. The Right to choose whether or not to Marry and To Found and Plan a
Family
This includes the right of persons to protection against a requirement to
marry without his/her consent. It also includes the right of individuals to
choose to remain single without discrimination and coercion.

8. The right to decide Whether or When to have Children

This includes the right of persons to decide freely and responsibly the
number and spacing of their children and to have access to related
information and education.
 9. The Right to Health Care and Health Protection
This includes the rights of clients to the highest possible quality of health
care, and the right to be free from harmful traditional health practices.

10. The Right to the Benefits of Scientific Progress

This includes the right of sexual and reproductive Health service of clients
to avail of the new reproductive health technologies that are safe,
effective, and acceptable.

11. The Right to Freedom of Assembly and Political Participation

This includes the rights of all persons to seek and influences communities
and governments to prioritize sexual and reproductive health and rights.

12. The Right to be Free from Torture and Ill-Treatment

This includes the rights of all women, men, and young people to
protection from violence, sexual exploitation and abuse.

13. The Right to Development

This includes the right of all individuals to access development
opportunities and benefits, especially in decision-making processes that
affect one’s life.

What is Reproductive Health?

According to DOH, Reproductive Health is a condition in which the reproductive

functions and processes are accomplished in a state of complete physical, mental
and social well-being.

Reproductive Health Care

The RH Law has provided for a definition. It refers to the access to a full range of
methods, facilities, services, and supplies that contribute to reproductive health
and well-being by addressing the reproductive health-related problems. It also
includes sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and
personal relations. The elements of reproductive health care includes:

1. Family Planning information and services which shall include as a first

priority making women of reproductive age fully aware of their
respective cycles to make them aware when fertilization is highly
probable, as well as high improbable;
2. Maternal, infant and child health and nutrition, including breastfeeding;
3. Proscription of abortion and management of abortion complications;
4. Adolescent and youth reproductive health guidance and counseling;
5. Prevention, treatment, and management of reproductive tract infections
(RTIs), HIV, and AIDS and other sexually transmittable infections (STIs);
6. Elimination of violence against women and children and other forms of
sexual and gender-based violence;
7. Education and Counseling on Sexuality and reproductive health;
8. Treatment of breast and reproductive tract cancers and other
gynecological conditions and disorders;
9. Male Responsibility and involvement and men’s reproductive health;
10. Prevention, treatment and management of infertility and sexual
dysfunction;
11. Reproductive health education for the adolescents;
12. Mental Health Aspect of reproductive health care.

What are your sexual Rights? According to DOH:

To Decide Freely and responsibly on all aspects of their sexuality, including

protecting and promoting their sexual and reproductive health.

To be free from discrimination, coercion, or violence in her sexual lives and in all
sexual decisions, and

To expect and demand equality, full consent, mutual respect and shared
responsibility in sexual relations.
What is sexual Health?

It means healthy sexual development, equitable and responsible relationships

and sexual fulfillment, and Freedom from illness, diseases, disability, violence,
and other harmful practices related to sexuality.

Is there a need for Contraception?

In a study, more women in the Philippines increasingly want smaller families.

However, due to economic factors, some women produce more offsprings.
Poorest women in the Philippines usually have 2 or more children compared to
rich women. Only 41% of the poor women use contraceptives.

Premarital sexual activity is also increasing, hence the need for contraceptives
for young men and women. In a study, young adults aged 15-24 had an increase
in premarital sexual activities, from 18% in 1994 to 23% in 2002.

More women do not use contraceptives due to the following reasons:

1. They fear the side- effects of contraceptives

2. They believe that are unlikely to become pregnant
3. They cannot afford to buy contraceptives
4. Opposition by their religious belief
5. Opposition by their partners

Points to consider in using contraceptives

- Unplanned pregnancies and birth place a large and costly burden on

women, their families, and the health care system.
- In 2008, alone, there were approximately 4,700 maternal deaths in the
Philippines. More than half of these are unplanned pregnancies.
- If women will use contraceptives, there would be 1.6 million fewer
pregnancies each year, and unintended births would drop to 800,000,
abortions would decline by 500,000, and miscarriages would decline to
200,000.
 - This would also decrease maternal deaths to 2,100 each year
- This would also have greater savings to our medical care for pregnant
women and newborns.

Abortion in the Philippines

Philippines is one of the remaining countries in the world that criminalizes

abortion in all circumstances and with no exceptions. Despite the criminal ban, in
2008 alone, and estimated 560,000 induced abortion took place in the
Philippines. 90,000 women sought treatment for complications, and 1,000
women died.

According to reports, these tragic and preventable deaths are a direct

consequence of the nation’s restrictive abortion law and an indirect consequence
of the lack of adequate information about and access to effective modern
contraception.

Even the World Health Organization recognizes unsafe abortion as “obstetric

emergencies”.

The most frequently used and unsafe method of abortion include painful
abdominal massages by traditional midwives or hilots. Other methods include,
inserting catheter to the uterus, medically unsupervised consumption of Cytotec
to induce uterine contractions, and ingestion of herbs and other concoctions by
street vendors.

Common physical complications caused by these methods include, hemorrhage,

sepsis, perforation of the uterus, damage to internal organ, and death.

In the study, here are the reasons why women result to abortion:

1. To protect their health

2. Due to poverty
3. To allow them to have more time to care for their existing children
4. To address unwanted pregnancies as a result of rape or incest;
5. Inability to control their fertility due to contraception.
Abortion will always remain a moral issue for a lot of people, however, one thing
is certain according to this study, criminalization of Abortion has not prevented
abortion in the Philippines, but it has made it extremely unsafe, leading directly
to the preventable deaths of thousands of women each year. Due to unsafe
abortion, children lost their mothers, husbands lost their wives, and parents
have lost their daughters.