State of World Population 2012 - UNFPA Haiti

sources of sexual and reproductive health informationand services and develop the sense thatplanning their childbearing is not their domain:it is women’s responsibility.Gender inequality in family planningprogrammesGender inequality is a profound obstacle towomen’s—and men’s—ability to realize theirright to family planning. It is also an impedimentto sustainable development. While genderequality refers to the overarching goal of equalrights, access, opportunities and lack of genderdiscrimination, gender equity refers to fairnessin the distribution of resources and services(UNFPA, 2012b; Caro, 2009). To ensure fairnessand justice, governments must pursuegender equality, adopting strategies and measuresto compensate for historical and social disadvantagesthat prevent women and men fromenjoying equal opportunities (UNICEF, 2010).The legal, economic, social and culturalbarriers to health and access to health servicesare reinforced by the physiological realities ofreproduction: women bear the consequencesof poor sexual and reproductive health choicesand pay for these consequences with theirhealth and sometimes their lives. Empoweredwith appropriate information, methods, andservices, vulnerable populations are in a betterposition to avoid many of the harmful sexualand reproductive health outcomes affectingthem. A focus on gender equality can makeit easier for both women and men of all agesacross diverse social settings to plan the timingand spacing of their children.The rigid ideals about appropriate attitudesand behaviours for men and women arelearned, socially constructed norms that varyacross local contexts and interact with socioculturalfactors such as class or caste (Barker,2005; Barker, Ricardo and Nascimento, 2007).These social and gender norms are carried outand reinforced on multiple levels, among individualsin peer groups and families, throughcommunity-wide attitudes and practices, andwithin institutions.CASE STUDYAddressing gender-based violencein TanzaniaThe Jijenge! programme in Tanzania recognizedthe harm gender inequality was causing towomen, including to their sexual and reproductivehealth (Michau, Naker and Swalehe, 2002).Going beyond a typically biomedical approachto sexual and reproductive health, thetCouple atantenatal careservice for couplesin Venezuela.©UNFPA/RaúlCorredorTHE STATE OF WORLD POPULATION 201241