Sexual & Reproductive Justice

Access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights is a basic human right.

However, the global status of women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights is disturbing: 214 million women worldwide want, but lack access to, contraception; more than 800 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth; and same-sex relationships between consenting adults are still illegal in 76 countries globally.

WHY IT MATTERS

Women and girls around the world, especially those living in poverty, face restricted or no access to information and services about their reproductive health and rights. Some of the barriers to sexual and reproductive health and rights include discrimination, stigma, restrictive laws and policies, and entrenched traditions. Progress remains slow despite the evidence that these rights can have a transformative effect, not only on individual women, but on families, communities, and national economies. In order to drive equality, we all must commit—fully and actively—to the sexual and reproductive health and rights of all women, girls, and trans people.

Global Fund for Women believes that a woman’s ability to access comprehensive sexuality education, control her own body, and access the health services she needs— regardless of her sexuality, where she lives, her income level, or her ethnicity—is a fundamental right. We believe that all women, girls, and LBTQI people have the right to live without fear of violence or discrimination, and should be able to make decisions about their sexuality and sexual health that are best for them.

HOW WE’RE MAKING AN IMPACT

While hard-won gains for sexual and reproductive health and rights often face backlash and set-backs, Global Fund for Women, together with our partners, is determined to change the status quo. This is a fragile moment for the rights of women, girls, and trans people. Threats to our sexual and reproductive health and rights have been compounded by the policies and practices of governments worldwide—including the U.S. administration—that threaten sexual and reproductive rights.

Our current priorities are to support groups that are: resisting roll-backs in rights as a result of the reinstated Global Gag Rule (a U.S. policy which restricts global health funding for women and girls); opposing efforts to restrict access to safe abortion; and supporting the rights of historically marginalized groups, including LBTQI communities.

OUR TRACK RECORD

Since our founding, Global Fund for Women has awarded 1,384 grants to 832 organizations to advance women’s and girls’ sexual and reproductive health and rights around the world. Women’s groups we have supported helped decriminalize first-trimester abortion in Mexico City and Uruguay. We have also supported key lesbian groups in China, Croatia, India, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, and elsewhere. Supporters of our work for sexual health and reproductive rights include Isabel Allende and the Yellow Chair Foundation, among many others.

To learn more about the recent work of some of our grantee partners fighting for sexual health and reproductive rights, explore our campaign “Bodies + Rights = Power” >>