SEXUAL HEALTH AND HUMAN RIGHTS A legal and ... - The ICHRP

Women are disproportionately the targets of this form of harassment, although men may also
face this abuse.
While States are obligated, under the rights to non-discrimination and equality, to treat the
similar interests of individuals in the same way, they must also treat their significantly
different interests in ways that adequately respect and accommodate those differences in line
with principles of autonomy, respect for diversity and regardless of gender or racial
stereotypes.20 The assumption that all persons can be reached by the same public health
messages about sexually transmitted infections constitutes one example of failed formal
equality: married adolescent girls, unmarried women, and men who have sex with men may
all need specific, tailored outreach and actions to obtain equivalent health information.
Human rights, health and children and young people
Under international human rights law, states have different responsibilities toward people
under 18 years of age from those over the age of 18. This age range in law overlaps with, but
functions differently than, the public health/programmatic category of young people (age 15-
24.) While tailoring services to young people does not stop at age 18, the specific legal
obligation changes, and young people over 18 assert their rights under the full range of rights
treaties and national law.
In regard to the access to health services, information and other rights important for sexual
health, a rights analysis can highlight the state’s responsibility to ensure these rights to
persons under 18 in an age-appropriate, non-discriminatory and effective way. At the same
time, the bright line of age 18 does not mean that all persons under 18 are treated identically.
Article 5 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child emphasizes that the concept of
‘evolving capacity’ of children. This concept balances the recognition of children as active
agents in their own lives, and as rights-bearers with increasing autonomy, while also being
entitled to protection in accordance with their vulnerability. In regard to sexual health, it is
critical that children be protected from sexual exploitation and abuse, but under 18’s also
have specific rights to information about sexuality and sexual health, as well as rights to
expression and action contributing to their development.
Thus, distinctions between adults and children are not always prohibited forms of
discrimination; however, law must provide sufficient protection while not otherwise
impeding other rights held by children, such as rights to information and participation.
Moreover, under child rights principles, older teens are understood to have greater autonomy
rights than younger children, and a rights lens demands that the law should not create
distinctions based on gender stereotypes between girls and boys in determining sexualityrelated
rights: the age of marriage, for example, should be equal (and 18), while age of sexual
consent can be lower than age of marriage, it must be equal for boys and girls. The failure to
use law in ways which supports the capacity of girls and boys to be both protected from
abuse and empowered to make decisions about sexuality with full information, can increase
their vulnerability to preventable health risks and impacts, such as pregnancy as they grow
into young adults and leave them unprepared to act as health-literate adults.
1.1 Non- discrimination based on sex
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[cite Simone Cusack]
16