Journal Article

Centring sexual and reproductive health and justice in the global COVID-19 response

Hall, Kelli Stidham, Orcutt, Miriam, Martinez, Micaela Elvira, Samari, Goleen, McGovern, Terry, Diallo, Dazon Dixon, Moresky, Rachel T, Garbers, Samantha, Casey, Sara E

2020

Overview

People whose human rights are least protected are likely to experience unique difficulties from COVID-19.1 Women, girls, and marginalised groups are likely to carry a heavier burden of what will be the devastating downstream economic and social consequences of this pandemic.2 A sexual and reproductive health and justice framework—one that centres human rights, acknowledges intersecting injustices, recognises power structures, and unites across identities—is essential for monitoring and addressing the inequitable gender, health, and social effects of COVID-19. Three crucial impacts of the PLGHA include decreased stakeholder coordination and chilling of sexual and reproductive health and rights discussions; reduced access to family planning, with increases in unintended pregnancy and induced abortion; and negative outcomes beyond sexual and reproductive health, including weakened health systems functioning.13 Migration policies of deterrence, including closures at US and European borders, force women to live in informal settlements or conditions of poverty for long periods of time, often without basic sanitation and hygiene or access to health care during antenatal and postnatal periods. [...]the response must eliminate legal and policy restrictions to sexual and reproductive health service provision and reverse the PLGHA and Global Gag Rule to ensure comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care for women and girls around the world.

• Publisher: Elsevier Ltd,Elsevier Limited
• Subject: Abortion / Aggression / Betacoronavirus / Birth control / Comment / Contraception / Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology / Coronaviruses / Cost of Illness / COVID-19 / Disease transmission / Domestic violence / Family planning / Gender / Global health / Global Health - standards / Health care / Health care access / Health Policy / Health services / Health Services Accessibility - organization & administration / Health Status Disparities / Healthcare Disparities - organization & administration / Human rights / Human Rights - standards / Humans / Hygiene / Medical research / Mental disorders / Mental health / Migration / Morbidity / Mortality / Pandemics / Pneumonia, Viral - epidemiology / Post traumatic stress disorder / Poverty / Pregnancy / Psychological stress / Reproductive health / Reproductive Health - standards / Reproductive rights / Risk Factors / Sanitation / SARS-CoV-2 / Severe acute respiratory syndrome / Sex Factors / Sexual health / Sexual Health - standards / Social exclusion / Social Justice - standards / Sociological Factors / Suicide / Suicides & suicide attempts / Telemedicine / Trauma / Vaccines / Viral infections / Vulnerable Populations / Women / Women's Health - standards / Womens health