Block 8 - SRHR - SVF - 14 - 5 - 2017

Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR)
Block No. 8
Chapter Title: Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR)
Course Teacher: Mallick Rakibul Hasan
Date: 03-12-18
Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

What have we discussed in Block 6?
Before we start …. 5 minute
exercise
Discuss with
your
neighbor
Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership 2

RECAP
Companies
Can infringe all Should respect

human rights all human
rights
Human rights consist of international rights
(e.g. ILO conventions) as well as domestic rights
(Bangladesh Labor Act 2006)
Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership 3

Let’s talk about SRHR
VIDEO

Overview
1. An introduction to SRHR
2. Necessity of SRHR
3. SRHR in the RMG sector of Bangladesh
4. SRHR barriers
5. Exercises

1. An introduction to SRHR (1):
elements
Sexual and reproductive health and rights or SRHR is the concept
of human rights applied to sexuality and reproduction
It is a combination of four elements. These four elements are

* sexual health
* sexual rights
* reproductive health
* reproductive rights
In the concept of SRHR, these four elements are treated as
separate but inherently intertwined

sexual health
The World Health Organization (2006) defines sexual health
as:
“a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relation to
sexuality. It requires a positive and respectful approach to
sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of
having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of
coercion, discrimination and violence"

1. An introduction to SRHR (3)
sexual rights
At the 14th World Congress of Sexology (Hong Kong, 1999), the World
Association of Sexual Rights adopted the Universal Declaration of Sexual Rights,
which includes 11 sexual rights:
•The right to sexual freedom
•The right to sexual autonomy, sexual integrity, and safety of the sexual body
•The right to sexual privacy
•The right to sexual equity
•The right to sexual pleasure
•The right to emotional sexual expression
•The right to sexually associate freely
•The right to make free and responsible reproductive choices
•The right to sexual information based upon scientific inquiry
•The right to comprehensive sexuality education
•The right to sexual healthCourse
Foundation care on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership
reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to
reproduction and reproductive health. According to the WHO
(2017), reproductive rights also include ‘the right of all to make
decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination,
coercion, and violence’

reproductive health
According to the WHO (2017), reproductive health, or sexual
health/hygiene:
“Addresses reproductive processes, functions and systems at all

stages of life. Reproductive health therefore implies that people
are able to have a responsible, satisfying and safer sex life and
that they have the capability to reproduce and the freedom to
decide if, when and how often to do so”

reproductive health
Azadeh (2016):
“One interpretation of this implies that men and women ought

to be informed of and to have access to safe, effective,
affordable and acceptable methods of birth control […] Also
access to appropriate health care services of sexual,
reproductive medicine and implementation of health education
programs to stress the importance of women to go safely
through pregnancy and childbirth could provide couples with the
best chance of having a healthy infant”

key areas
 Maternal, perinatal health
 Family planning
 Unsafe abortion
 Sexual health, gender issues and gender-based violence
 Sexual reproductive health of adolescents

SRHR services
• “Contraceptive information and services, including
emergency contraception and a range of modern
contraceptive methods
• Maternity care, including antenatal and postnatal care, and
delivery care
• Prevention and appropriate treatment of infertility
• Safe abortion and post-abortion care
• Prevention, care, and treatment of sexually transmitted
infections, HIV/AIDS, and reproductive cancers […]

SRHR services
• Information, education, and counseling
• Prevention and surveillance of violence against women
• Care for survivors of violence
• Actions to eliminate harmful traditional practices such as
early and forced marriage”
Source: Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2013)

Questions for class
What What does

does SRHR
SRHR mean to
mean to me?
me?

Why do we need SRHR?

2. The necessity of SRHR (1)
Link with
block 3!

2. The necessity of SRHR (2)
• Achieve gender equality and sustainable development
• Achieve young people’s full potential
• Girls can avoid early marriage, women can pursue an income
and have children if and when they are ready. In turn, they lift
themselves, their families and communities out of poverty

3. SRHR in the RMG sector of
Bangladesh (1)

Bangladesh (2)

Bangladesh (3)
Difficulties
• The concept of SRHR requires significant awareness
• Factory authorities consider SRHR as a philanthropic
issue rather than CSR
• Failure to link SRHR with business benefits is quite
apparent
• Harassment and mal-treatment towards female
workers are still persistent
• Many workers still lack adequate access to health care

Bangladesh (4)
Progress
• Occupational health and safety has become a necessity
for factories due to modified compliance clauses
• Various national/international institutes and research
bodies are taking notable initiatives
• Certain factories have been known to be engaged in
SRHR and have claimed to have enjoyed benefits in terms
of both finance and human resources

Bangladesh (5)
Issues
• Unsafe Menstruation Regulation
• Low usage of family planning methods
• Risk of sexually transmitted
infections (STIs)
• Apathy to use antenatal and post-natal
care services
• Vulnerability to sexual harassment
• Lack of knowledge about sexual and reproductive health
rights
Bangladesh (6)
• Promoting SRHR works better when using
economic incentives than presenting it as a
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative
(BMB Mott Mc Donald, 2013)
• For every $1 invested in women‘s health, one

Bangladeshi factory observes a $3 return
through higher productivity, lower turnover and
reduced absenteeism (BSR HER Project, 2014)
Bangladesh (7)
• The general trend is to follow the recommendations of the
buyers
• Buyers are currently concerned with OHS and still have to

embrace SRHR even though sometimes buyers invest in
education and awareness pertaining to SRHR

Video: Working with women
promoting SRHR

Bangladesh (8)
Opportunities for the promotion of SRHR:
• Creates a stronger bond between the workers and the
officers
• Increases motivation amongst the workforce resulting in
less turnover and more productivity
• Workers strengthen their purchasing power and are
enabled to buy consumer as well as luxury products

Bangladesh (9)
Examples of inclusive SRHR business models:
DBL Group
• DBL Group is one of the pioneers in adopting inclusive business
models on SRHR for female workers
• The factory observed remarkable improvements in reducing

absenteeism and migration. The current migration rate of the factory
is 2,8% against an industry average of 10%
• The factory is known to give access to health care, mandatory

possession of sanitary napkins as well as selling contraceptives in the
pharmacy located in-house
Bangladesh (10)
Babylon Group
• Provides low-cost sanitary pads, which are also offered to
factories of other organizations

Bangladesh (11)
NGO SRHR initiatives:
• Phulki, a local NGO, is operating a helpline for sexual
harassment cases
• MarieStopes and SMC are independently operating
helplines/call centers on SRHR for the general population
• Benefit for Business and Workers (BBW) targets improved
human resource practices
• BSR-HER project is the largest SRHR program aiming to
empower low-income women and is co-funded by buyers
• ‘Change Associates’ project, which includes 17 major
international brands
Bangladesh (12)
Examples of private sector initiatives (SNV, 2014):
• Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Consumer Products Limited has

designed a branded sanitary napkin specifically targeted towards
the lower income segments of the population
• The Social Marketing Company (SMC) is the market leader on

distribution of family planning products and according to the
respondents it holds 38% of the total contraceptive market
• Square Consumer Products Limited holds 80% of the total sanitary

napkin market in Bangladesh
4. SRHR barriers (1)
Overview
• Social, cultural and behavioral barriers
• Work place barriers
• Accessibility, affordability and quality of service
barriers
• Investment barriers
• Capacity and awareness barriers
Source: SHV (2014)

Social, cultural and behavioral
barriers
• Sexual health is considered a taboo
• Husbands are yet to be effectively targeted to make them
aware of the SRHR needs of their wives
• Peers and communities exert a negative influence on the
workers
• Programs are yet to find effective means of engaging peers and
communities along with workers in the workplace
• Lifestyle of the workers makes them vulnerable to STDs and
they are not willing to take services from formal providers
• Time is needed to instigate behavioral change
Workplace barriers
• Limited flexibility in work hours restrict the workers in availing
service from the formal providers
• Fear of exposure limits the use of the medical centers in the
factories as consultation point
• Large number of workers in the factories makes dissemination
of knowledge a challenge
• Dependency on external support limits the capacity of the
factories to address SRHR issues in the work place
• Power relations: domination of male staffs in the hierarchy

Accessibility, affordability and
quality of service barriers
• Lack of interest amongst the factories to provide access to the
NGOs
• Workers do not get the products when they need it
• Workers barely have savings
• Commodity suppliers and pharmaceuticals are dependent on NGOs
to reach out to the workers
• The expense and quality of SRHR products and services
• Government intervention on free distribution of family planning
products and methods limit the retail market presence of the
private sector
Investment barriers
• Investments in OHS compliance limits capacity of the factories
to invest on SRHR
• Most factories are yet to be aware of business gains from

investment in SRHR
• Buyers consider SRHR merely as a CSR issue
• Interventions by buyers, factories and donors are mostly ad hoc

and not strategic

Capacity and awareness barriers
• NGOs are critical about SRHR services and commodity delivery and have
still to build their human and technical capacity on sustainable solutions
• Trade associations are yet to become facilitator of inclusive business

models to tackle social and health issues of the workers
• Donors are yet to embrace inclusive business models as mandate to tackle

SRHR

Exercises
Read the following cases and discuss the SRHR
issues of each case

The case of Yasmina
Yasmina’s mother died when she was young, and she was forced to leave
school early in order to take care of her five brothers and sisters.
Her father remarried, and Yasmina was herself married off against her will. Her
husband used to beat her, and made her travel from their village to Dhaka to
find work. She got a job in a garment factory, but was forced to leave her
daughter uncared for in the village, where she later died.
Yasmina’s husband subsequently abandoned her and married again, leaving

her on her own in the capital. She works as a helper, the lowest grade in the
garment industry, and earns the minimum wage – yet her former husband still
demands money from her.
Adapted from: War on Want (2011). Stitched up. Women workers in the Bangladeshi
garment sector

The case of Sultana
Sultana was the eldest of three children, whose father died while she was still
at school. As a result she had to give up her education, as her mother was
unable to bear the costs of keeping her brother and sister on her own. Sultana
found work at the lowest level in a clothes factory, and was forced to work
night shifts. She fell ill after two and a half months and had to leave her job.
She then joined another garment factory, but again fell sick after five months.
“Whenever I started working in these garment factories, I became sick,” says
Sultana. “Yet I had no choice but to continue my work as I had to bear all the
family expenses, including the education costs for my brother and sister. When
I fell ill at my last factory, I applied for sick leave but I was denied it. I returned
to the factory after four or five days and was denied my wages.”
Adapted from: War on Want (2011). Stitched up. Women workers in the
Bangladeshi garment sector

The case of Fatema
Fatema is 20 years old and lives with her husband and baby daughter in the area of Azampur. They live
in one room and share one bed. They have no radio or television. Fatema’s husband works in a buying
office but doesn’t earn enough for the family’s needs. Fatema has studied to class five. For the last
three years she has worked as a sewing machine operator in an export factory in central Dhaka. She
makes long days, goes to work by foot at 7 am, and often works until 9 pm. Her salary is 3,000 taka (26
Euro) plus overtime per month. She gives the salary to her husband who uses the money for rent and
food. No money is saved for the future, but sometimes he sends money to his parents in the village.
Fatema does all the household work. The regular household work is finished by 1:00 am. She then goes
to bed and wakes up at 5:00 am. There is no doctor at the factory and Fatema does not have the time
to visit the doctor during workdays. She has pain in one kidney and often suffers from fever. The
nearest pharmacy has medicine and she tries to take care of her health by eating vegetables, dahl
pulses, or mashed potato three times a day. The family can afford fish three days a month and meat
once a month. The contraceptive pills she takes are bought in a medicine shop for 50 taka every third
month. When at work, Fatema’s eight month-old daughter is cared for by her mother. Fatema worries
that her baby does not receive proper care. However, taking her to the factory is not an option because
they do not have enough space, and the morning traffic is frightening. Fatema likes the factory
environment but due to her poor health, she thinks that she cannot continue to work for too long. The
earnings are also not enough to survive on in the city.
Adapted from: SWEDWATCH (2011)

The case of Nazera
Nazera started working in the garment industry at the age of 16. She is one of
four sisters, and her husband has spent long periods unemployed. She was
forced to switch from one factory to another over the years before settling in
her current workplace. Her wage has had to support her husband as well as
the rest of her family, although he has now also found work in the garment
industry. At the end of her first pregnancy, and in the absence of any medical
facilities, Nazera gave birth to a stillborn baby. When she became pregnant
again the following year, she applied for maternity leave. “I applied to the
authorities according to the law,” explains Nazera, “and the management
received my application as required. Yet the day I was due to go on leave, I
was informed by the compliance officer that I would not be paid.”
Adapted from: War on Want (2011). Stitched up. Women workers in the
Bangladeshi garment sector

Conclusion
• SRHR is the concept of human rights applied to sexuality and reproduction
and consists of four elements: (i) sexual health; (ii) sexual rights; (iii)
reproductive health; and (iv) reproductive rights
• SRHR is necessary to inter alia achieve gender equality, sustainable

development, achieve young people’s full potential and to avoid that girls
are married at a too young age
• Various SRHR difficulties remain persistent, such as harassment, but SRHR

opportunities are also acknowledged, such as increased workers’
motivation
• A multitude of SRHR barriers exist, such as: social, cultural and behavioral
barriers; work place barriers; accessibility, affordability and quality of
service barriers; investment barriers; and capacity and awareness barriers
References
• BSR HER PROJECT, (2014), Business Case,
http://herproject.org/our-impact/business-case
• Faruque Hassan, (2014), RMG industry of Bangladesh: Past,
present and future, September 19, 2014, Retrieved from:
http://www.dhakatribune.com/long-form/2014/sep/19/rmg-industry-
bangladesh-past-present-and-future#sthash.R2cNyxyz.dpuf
• Mott MacDonald, (2013), Scoping study on SRHR activities
within the Apparel and Textiles Sector
• SNV (2014), Report Findings of the Value Chain Analysis
• http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/en/

Further reading
• Glasier A., et al (2006). Sexual and reproductive health: a matter of
life and deat. In Lancet 2006; 368: 1595–607
• Lancet 2006 series on SRHR
• IPPF (2008). Sexual rights: an IPPF declaration
• Online course on sexuality and SRHR, see: http://www.share-
netinternational.org/node/524
• IOB study (2013). Achieving universal access to sexual and
reproductive health and rights
– (available at: http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/reports/2013/10/01/iob-
achieving-universal-access-to-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights.html)
• IOB study (2009). Synthesis of impact evaluations in sexual and
reproductive health and rights
– (available at: http://www.oecd.org/derec/netherlands/44006320.pdf)

Next Week
Biodiversity
An ecosystem consists of:
• A defined area
• Living things (animals, plants, organisms)
• These living things interact with each other and with their
non-living environments (such as the sun and climate)
Source: http://eschooltoday.com/ecosystems/what-is-an-ecosystem.html

Next week -The loss of biodiversity
Human
Land use change
population
(habitat loss)
increase
Increasing
Declining
economic
Climate change Biological
activity
Diversity
Social, political Social, political

and cultural and cultural
factors factors
Indirect causes Direct causes

RMG sector’s dependency on nature
The RMG sector is dependent on (some) ecosystem services
Source: PBL (2014)

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Corporate Social Responsibility

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership 2

Can infringe all Should respect

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership 3

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

It is a combination of four elements. These four elements are

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

“Addresses reproductive processes, functions and systems at all

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

“One interpretation of this implies that men and women ought

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Source: Global Gender and Climate Alliance (2013)

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

What What does

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

• For every $1 invested in women‘s health, one

• Buyers are currently concerned with OHS and still have to

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

• The factory observed remarkable improvements in reducing

• The factory is known to give access to health care, mandatory

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

• Advanced Chemical Industries (ACI) Consumer Products Limited has

• The Social Marketing Company (SMC) is the market leader on

• Square Consumer Products Limited holds 80% of the total sanitary

Source: SHV (2014)

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

• Most factories are yet to be aware of business gains from

• Buyers consider SRHR merely as a CSR issue

• Interventions by buyers, factories and donors are mostly ad hoc

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

• Trade associations are yet to become facilitator of inclusive business

• Donors are yet to embrace inclusive business models as mandate to tackle

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Yasmina’s husband subsequently abandoned her and married again, leaving

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Adapted from: SWEDWATCH (2011)

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

Foundation Course on CSR, SRHR and Innovative Leadership

• SRHR is necessary to inter alia achieve gender equality, sustainable

• Various SRHR difficulties remain persistent, such as harassment, but SRHR