SDG #5 is to “Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.”
Within SDG #5 are 9 targets, of which we here focus on Target 5.6:
Ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive health and reproductive rights as agreed in accordance with the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development and the Beijing Platform for Action and the outcome documents of their review conferences
Target 5.6 has two indicators:
Indicator 5.6.1: Proportion of women aged 15–49 years who make their own informed decisions regarding sexual relations, contraceptive use and reproductive health care
Indicator 5.6.2: Number of countries with laws and regulations that guarantee full and equal access to women and men aged 15 years and older to sexual and reproductive health care, information and education
This target introduces us to the topics of population as it relates to women. This issue, as well as sexual and reproductive health and rights, is overseen at the UN level by the UNFPA (UN Population Fund). From this arises the question for women worldwide on who’s making the decision about their own healthcare. Do women have the choice to use contraceptives, and can they refuse sex with a partner if they don’t want to? The fertility rates are highest in these countries, yet so are the child mortality rates. Some families choose to have more children to compensate. Many women in such regions have choice deprived of them around their reproductive decisions. But development allows women to delay childbirth and reduces the child mortality and fertility rates. It's also easier to meet the existing population’s basic needs when there’s less mouths to share it with.
Target #5.6 mentions to International Conference on Population and Development. This 1994 UNFPA conference addressed the pressures of population, fertility, and development. The ICPD also highlighted the issue of women’s rights to their own decision-making on matters relating to sex and reproduction.
This extends to the laws in effect in respective countries upholding such rights. These include matters of:
Maternity care
Contraception and family planning, including the topic of the morning after pill
Sex education, including the teaching of consent
HIV and HPV
Abortion
Consideration of the age children and adolescents can consent to their own medical treatment
Child sexual exploitation
This target also mentions the Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, mentioned already in this series in Target 5.1.
56% of women worldwide make their own informed decisions about sexual relations and contraceptive use. The lowest rates are in sub-Saharan Africa, where only 37% of women face such choices.
76% of countries have laws as of 2022 ensuring the right to access sexual and reproductive health care for both sexes.
